The Muhraka is located on the southern slope of Mount Carmel, near the Druze village of Daliyat el-Carmel. The word Muhraka means “The place of burning”. Tradition has it that this was the very Biblical site where the prophet Elijah fought the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:16-45). According to…
Category: The Bible and places in Israel
Beit Jimal Monastery
The house of beatitude is the meaning of the name- Beit Jimal. It is a Catholic monastery that had been established in 1881, on the slopes of the Judean Mountains, near the city of Beit Shemesh. Tradition has it that this was the burial site of St. Stephen, who is…
Church of St. John the Baptist
One of two highly important churches in Ein-Kerem is John the Baptist’s church. The church was built in the 19th century on the ruins of an ancient Byzantine and formerly- Crusader churches.It is located in the vicinity of Jerusalem. It is named after John the Baptist; St. John, in commemoration of…
John the Baptist
According to Christian tradition , John the Baptist was born in the small village of Ein Karem, outside Jerusalem, in approximately the same time period of Jesus’ birth. John the Baptist was born to elderly parents: Zachary and Elisheva. Since the Romans decided to kill all male newborns in the…
The house on Maayan Street, Ein Karem
Ein Karem is a unique, ancient and preserved neighborhood of Jerusalem. The area is of vintage-flavors. It is also an important Christina site, at which Mary had visited while pregnant with Jesus and mainly- where John the Baptist was born. The House on Maayan Street is an artists’ home, at…
Masada Myth – a Desert Fortress
Masada (539 B.C -70 A.D) is an ancient fortress, built by King Herod, based on a high plateau in the desert, overlooking the Dead Sea. Masada was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001. King Herod was known as the builder of Masada. The plateau’s natural defensive features (vertical…
The Bible and the Jordan valley
Many Biblical stories are connected to the Jordan valley. Some relate to the geographical part that is today the land of Jordan; some relate to the Israeli part; some concern a specific part of the valley that was called “SUKKOT” –situated in the middle of the Jordan valley. As the area had…
Pope Francis- to visit in May 2014
The Vatican confirmed that Pope Francis plans visiting Israel in May 2014, probably on May 24-25. That would make it the yet another meaningful Christian -Papal visit in the Holy Land in the scope of the past years. Pope John-Paul II visited Israel in year 2000 and Pope Benedict XVI came in year 2009….
Mount Sodom and the Bible
Mount Sodom is located on the south-west side of the Dead Sea, rising some 200m above it. It is actually a series of mountains, 11 Km long, that are made of salt mixed with a variety of other minerals. The water, penetrating into the salt, is creating large cavities. The…
Jesus Christ and the Via Dolorosa
The path that Jesus Christ had taken, while walking to his death, is called: “the Via Dolorosa”, in Jerusalem. In other words it means: “The path/route of grief”. The long path is located in the heart of the old city of Jerusalem. Christians, around the world, visit the city in…