Tell Elias is where Elijah is said to have ascended to heaven, although there is little to see here. The rebuilt arch marks the 5th- to 6th-century pilgrim chapel, where Pope John Paul II authenticated the site in March 2000. The nearby 3rd-century rectangular prayer hall is one of the earliest Christian places of worship ever discovered, dating from a period when Christianity was still illegal.
The bus continues to a modern baptism pool with filtered water from the Jordan River (the river is badly polluted).