Down here you are well below sea level, close to four hundred metres under it, and the air shows it: thick, warm and heavy, with a mineral haze rising off the Dead Sea a few kilometres to the south. The baptism site known as Bethany Beyond the Jordan, Al-Maghtas in Arabic, lies on the east bank of the river Jordan, the place many Christians identify with the baptism of Jesus by John. Across a narrow, muddy channel of water stands Qasr al-Yahud on the western side, close to Jericho, and the two banks look at each other across one of the world's most heavily watched borders.
The east bank site was listed by UNESCO in 2015. Archaeologists have uncovered Roman and Byzantine remains here: churches, baptismal pools, hermit caves and the hill associated with the prophet Elijah, who in tradition ascended to heaven from this area. Pilgrims have come since at least the Byzantine era, and you will see groups in white robes stepping into the water in many languages.
This is not a place you ride up to and park beside the river. Access is controlled, the area is a military zone, and on both sides visitors normally leave vehicles at a reception point and continue on official transport. Crossing between the two banks is only possible through the formal border crossings further north, with all the paperwork that entails. Check the current situation before you plan anything around it, because rules and openings change.
The riding around the Jordan Valley is a lesson in heat. In summer the valley floor bakes, and temperatures above forty degrees are normal, so ride early, carry far more water than you think and keep your gear vented. Winter and spring are kinder, with green patches along the river and date palms heavy with fruit. The roads are mostly straight and fast across the valley, with sharp climbs up the escarpments on either side giving views back over the river plain and the Dead Sea.
Jericho, about ten kilometres away, is the nearest real town, with fuel, food and its own long story as one of the oldest inhabited places on earth. Try the dates, drink fresh juice from a roadside stall and give yourself a quiet moment by the reeds; whatever you believe, it is a place with weight to it.