The Jordan here is not the river of imagination: it is narrow, brown and slow, with the far bank close enough to see faces. That modesty is part of the site's power. Christian tradition has identified this stretch, a short distance above the Dead Sea, with the baptism of Jesus by John, and it has drawn pilgrims for centuries; monasteries of several confessions stand in the dry landscape behind it. For decades the area was closed and mined, and its churches abandoned; clearance work has reopened much of it. Today groups descend the steps in white robes, immerse themselves and pray on the bank, often within sight of pilgrims doing the same on the opposite side. Filmed in 4K, the programme observes the ritual with restraint and situates it in the geography and history of the lower Jordan valley.
