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Mideast’s Jordan River: Rich in holiness, poor in water

FILE - Pope Francis prays in front of the Jordan River at the Bethany beyond the Jordan baptismal site on the east bank of the river, west of Amman, Jordan, on Saturday, May 24, 2014. The Bible says Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, Pool, File) People bathe in the Jordan River near Kibbutz Karkom in northern Israel on Saturday, July 30, 2022. 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. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) People spend the day at the Jordan River near Kibbutz Kinneret in northern Israel on Saturday, July 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) 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. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) People spend the day at the Jordan River near Kibbutz Kinneret in northern Israel on Saturday, July 30, 2022. Only a tiny fraction of the river’s historical water flow now reaches its terminus in the Dead Sea. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) FILE - 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. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty, File) People spend the day at the Jordan River near Kibbutz Kinneret in northern Israel on Saturday, July 30, 2022. 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. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) Tourists visit Al-Maghtas, known as Bethany Beyond the Jordan, on the east bank of the Jordan River in Jordan on Wednesday, June 8, 2022. 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. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh) (Took out the last sentence). 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, 2022. The river’s dwindling waters are sluggish and a dull brownish green in this area. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) 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, 2022. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh) 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, 2022. (AP Photo/Raad Adayleh) 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. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) A cow crosses the Jordan River near Kibbutz Karkom in northern Israel on Saturday, July 30, 2022. Symbolically and spiritually, the Jordan is of mighty significance to many as the place where Jesus is said to have been baptized. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)