Jordan River, believed baptism site of Jesus, is in decline


























ASSOCIATED PRESS
Members of the Eritrean and Ethiopian Christian Orthodox community from Tel Aviv participate in a baptismal ceremony in the waters of the Jordan River as part of the Orthodox Feast of the Epiphany at the Qasr al-Yahud baptismal site, near the West Bank town of Jericho on Friday, Jan. 19, 2018.ASSOCIATED PRESS
Christian pilgrims stand in the waters of the Jordan River during a baptism ceremony as part of the Orthodox Feast of the Epiphany at the Qasr al-Yahud baptismal site, near the West Bank town of Jericho, on Friday, Jan. 19, 2018. Tourists and pilgrims come to the river from near and far, many driven by faith, to follow in Christ’s footsteps, to touch its water, to conjure up biblical events.ASSOCIATED PRESS
Members of the Eritrean and Ethiopian Christian Orthodox community from Tel Aviv stand in the waters of the Jordan River during a baptism ceremony as part of the Orthodox Feast of the Epiphany at the Qasr al-Yahud baptismal site, near the West Bank town of Jericho on Friday, Jan. 19, 2018.ASSOCIATED PRESS
Syrian Christian Zuhair Al-Sahawi immerses his hand in water at the Bethany Beyond the Jordan baptismal site on the east bank of the Jordan River in Jordan on Wednesday, June 8.ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tourists visit Al-Maghtas, known as Bethany Beyond the Jordan, on the east bank of the Jordan River in Jordan on Wednesday, June 8. UNESCO has declared Bethany Beyond the Jordan a World Heritage Site. The river holds significance as the scene of miracles in the Old Testament and the site of Christ’s baptism.ASSOCIATED PRESS
Buildings stand at Al-Maghtas, known as Bethany Beyond the Jordan, on the east bank of the Jordan River in Jordan on Wednesday, June 8.ASSOCIATED PRESS
A cow crosses the Jordan River near Kibbutz Karkom in northern Israel on Saturday, July 30. Symbolically and spiritually, the Jordan is of mighty significance to many as the place where Jesus is said to have been baptized.ASSOCIATED PRESS
People spend the day at the Jordan River near Kibbutz Kinneret in northern Israel on Saturday, July 30. Only a tiny fraction of the river’s historical water flow now reaches its terminus in the Dead Sea.ASSOCIATED PRESS
People spend the day at the Jordan River near Kibbutz Kinneret in northern Israel on Saturday, July 30.ASSOCIATED PRESS
People spend the day at the Jordan River near Kibbutz Kinneret in northern Israel on Saturday, July 30. Environmental group EcoPeace Middle East has been urging regional collaboration on the Jordan between rivals who have long had every motivation to squeeze as much water as possible out of the river or its tributaries.ASSOCIATED PRESS
People bathe in the Jordan River near Kibbutz Karkom in northern Israel on Saturday, July 30. The river's decline is intertwined with the decades-old Arab-Israeli conflict and rivalries over precious water supplies in an area where so much is contested.ASSOCIATED PRESS
Olga Bokkas, a visitor from Connecticut, immerses herself in the waters of the Jordan River at the Qasr al-Yahud baptismal site, near the West Bank town of Jericho on Sunday, July 31. The river’s dwindling waters are sluggish and a dull brownish green in this area.