Tel Elias ruins. The shuttle bus makes a short stop at Tel Elias Hill, where the prophet Elijah ascended to heaven. This site is significant for the believers of the three Abrahamic religions, although there is little to see. On the site of the pilgrimage chapel of the 5th-6th century today there is an arch where in the spring of 2000 Pope John Paul II announced the sanctity of this place. The foundations of a square chapel next to it date back to the 3rd century. This is one of the earliest places of Christian worship, dating back to the days when the Christian religion was out of the law. The bus goes forward to the modern baptismal font with filtered water from the Jordan River (the river is heavily polluted).
Spring of John the Baptist. Then you will have to walk (very hot in summer, take a hat and some water) to the places where, according to the biblical tradition, John the Baptist performed baptism rites. The rites were more often performed in the sources of Wadi al-Harrar than in the Jordan River. The trail goes through thickets of tamarisk and argul (wild cherry), and in spring through clumps of yellow Jericho rose.
Baptism Site of Jesus ruins. The main archaeological site includes the remains of three churches. Steps lead down where once there was some water, and a building nearby marks the supposed site of Jesus’ Epiphany. In the 5th and 6th centuries, Byzantine churches were erected here, later they were rebuilt after a devastating flood. Only traces of the original mosaic have survived to this day.
River Jordan. The walking route follows a Greek Orthodox church with a golden dome and leads to the river, which has turned into something more than an ordinary ditch with stagnant water. Not a great idea, but you can still be baptized in the Jordan river if you are accompanied by a priest. On the other side of the river (and the border) there is a rival Israeli baptismal complex. This is the only place where civilians can touch Jordan, as there is a military demarcation line along the river.
