Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE JORDAN VALLEY
Forming a part of the Great Rift in Africa, the fertile valley of the Jordan River was of considerable significance in
biblical times, and is now regarded as the food bowl of Jordan.
The hot dry summers and short mild winters make for ideal growing conditions, and (subject to water restrictions)
two or three crops are grown every year. The main crops are tomatoes, cucumbers, melons and citrus fruits, many of
which are cultivated under plastic.
The Jordan River rises from several sources, mainly the Anti-Lebanon Range in Syria, and flows down into the
Sea of Galilee (Lake Tiberias), 212m below sea level, before draining into the Dead Sea. The actual length of the
river is 360km, but as the crow flies the distance between its source and the Dead Sea is only 200km.
It was in the Jordan Valley, some 10,000 years ago, that people first started to plant crops and abandon their no-
madic lifestyle for permanent settlements. Villages were built and primitive irrigation schemes were undertaken; by
3000 BC produce from the valley was being exported to neighbouring regions, much as it is today.
The Jordan River is highly revered by Christians, mainly because Jesus was said to have been baptised in its wa-
ters by John the Baptist at the site of Bethany-Beyond-the-Jordan. Centuries earlier, Joshua also supposedly led the
Israelite armies across the Jordan near Tell Nimrin (Beth Nimrah in the Bible) after the death of Moses, marking the
symbolic transition from the wilderness to the land of milk and honey:
And while all Israel were passing over on dry ground, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood
on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.
Joshua 3: 17
Since 1948 the Jordan River has marked the boundary between Jordan and Israel and the Palestinian Territories,
from the Sea of Galilee to the Yarbis River. From there to the Dead Sea marked the 1967 ceasefire line between the
two countries - it now marks the continuation of the official frontier with the Palestinian Territories.
During the 1967 war with Israel, Jordan lost the West Bank, and the population on the Jordanian east bank of the
valley dwindled from 60,000 before the war to 5000 by 1971. During the 1970s, new roads and fully serviced vil-
lages were built and the population has now soared to over 100,000.
Al-Himma (Mukheiba)
02 / POP >5000 / ELEV -130M
If you have just paid a visit to the Yarmouk Battleground viewpoint (
Click here
)
you may
be interested to descend to the hot springs of Al-Himma in the village of Mukheiba. At the
confluence of the Yarkmouk and the Jordan Rivers, you can gain a good idea of the battle
site from the ground, although access to the site proper is currently restricted. The hills
(almost an escarpment) up which the conflicting armies had to run look considerably
steeper from here and make the Muslim victory all the more impressive.
