dr. rachele haverlock. and she's here on a conference. also, she spent a lot of time in the area and she's written a wonderful book called "river jordan." it talks about how the jordan river has been used geographically as a boundary line in the region. welcome. >> thank you. >> so, the book, what is it about? >> well, the jordan river plays a prominent role in jewish life and imagination. it's an important symbol to christians and islam. highway wanted to look at why it's so important in the flee religions and how it came to persist as a really important boundary, location and symbol in jewish life from antiquity. >> just for some who may not be familiar with all of the ways in which the geography of the region is layed out and putting aside what some may call the political issues around the state boundaries between, say jordan and israel, egypt and the region, can we let folks know where does the river jordan actually situate itself? >> it's the lowest river on earth. it flows down from northern mountains in israel and syria. it cuts th