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In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
The book of Genesis is man's earliest known account of the world as we know it today.
Was the world created some 5,000 years ago by divine initiative?
Was it evolved for millions and millions of years?
Is this the original site of the Garden of Eden between the Jordan Valley and Beit Shean?
Or was it somewhere between the Tigris and the Euphrates?
Did it really exist at all?
The Bible, the unique embodiment of universal truth.
The source of the world's three major religions was written here in this sacred country.
There is no country in the world so rich in contrasts
or so varied in appearance and moods as the tiny land of Israel.
The Holy Land offers an almost limitless range of attractions for visitors from all over the world
no matter what creed or culture.
Here you behold the scenery and landscapes, the very places and ground where eternal ideals were conceived.
Here you may observe many of history's finest monuments.
Ruins ravaged by time, magnificent fortresses erected by emperors and kings.
Roads and battlefields on which the fate of nations was determined.
This is the land where no magic is required to turn back the wheels of time and look into the past.
The birthplace of the events that shaped the course of humanity.
So join us on a journey through time, through landscapes back into the history of mankind
in the land of Israel, the Holy Land.
A solitary family settles by a well.
Abraham, his wife Sarah, and their Egyptian maid servant Hagar.
Later Hagar will become the mother of Abraham's son Ishmael, the father of the Arab people.
The desert is the Bedouins' natural abode.
Their nomadic life is reminiscent of the way our forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived over 3,000 years ago.
Retaining their old customs and traditions, the Bedouins live but a few miles away from the modern 20th century city of Beersheba,
the capital on the crossroads to the Negev.
Like many places in Israel, where archaeological discoveries are not uncommon events during construction work,
Beersheba is named after an ancient site, the Seven Wells.
Here you will probably drink your milkshake, where Abraham used to milk his sheep.
And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram and said unto him,
I am the Almighty God, walk before me and be thou perfect, and I will establish my covenant between me and thee,
thy seed after thee, in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God unto thee and to thy seed after thee.
Abraham will become the father of two great nations, the Jewish people and, through his son Ishmael, the Arab people.
As the midday sun beats down mercilessly on the plains of Mamre, Abraham takes shelter under this oak tree, now 4,000 years old.
Suddenly three men appear. They are the Lord's messengers, sent to prepare Abraham and his old wife Sarah for the birth of a long foreson, Isaac.
This Byzantine church commemorates the event.
The Dead Sea.
The Lord has decreed the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Abraham saves all of Lot's family but one. His wife looked back from behind him, and she became the pillar of salt.
Abraham's faith in the Lord is put to the ultimate test when he is ordered to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac on Mount Moriah.
Leading the small group on an ass, his son and servants follow him on foot.
The wood for the sacrificial altar is carried by Isaac himself.
As Abraham lifts the knife to slay his son, an angel of the Lord calls unto him from heaven,
Lay not thine hand upon the lead, for now I know that thou fearst God.
It is here on Mount Moriah, more than a thousand years later, that the house of God is built,
on the same spot where a man's faith was first put to divine test, and it is by no means the last.
South of Jerusalem lies Kiryat Arba, also known as Hebron.
Kiryat Arba is the first mentioned in Genesis.
These are the new quarters of the town.
Abraham purchases the cave of Machpelah as a burying place for his beloved wife.
Once acquired, it becomes the family vault of the patriarchs, Abraham and his descendants.
Isaac and Jacob in their wives.
And Jacob dreamed, and behold, a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven,
and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
In this dream, probably taking place at the bottom of these ancient stairs in Bethel,
Jacob is promised the land of Israel.
A few days after the momentous event, Jacob meets his future bride, Rachel, beside a well.
This veteran woman is drawing water for her father's sheep,
very much like Rachel when Jacob first saw her and fell in love.
Rachel, who dies unexpectedly in childbirth, is buried just outside of Bethlehem.
The tragic story of her patience and devotion have made her a symbol of motherhood throughout all the generations.
Jacob, who had twelve sons, is the father of the twelve tribes of Israel.
One of them, Joseph, becomes a ruler of Egypt and the Pharaoh's favorite.
When the great seven-year famine strikes the area, he invites his father and brothers to join him in Egypt.
Joseph dies in Egypt.
His coffin is taken by the children of Israel during the Exodus to be reinterred here near Nablus.
Hundreds of years elapse.
In Egypt, Moses, who has been brought up by the daughter of Pharaoh, emerges as a leader of his people.
The children of Israel are no longer free.
They are oppressed by the pharaonic regime and compelled to build huge treasure cities for the Egyptians.
It takes a spiritual master, one who introduces monotheism into the world, to deliver them from bondage.
He now leads the Israelites into the Sinai desert, there to wander for forty years until they become a nation of free men.
Here on Mount Sinai, with six hundred thousand living men and women as witnesses, the Ten Commandments are given.
I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
Honor thy father and thy mother.
For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills,
a land of wheat and barley, and vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of oil, olives and honey.
And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, and the Lord said unto him,
This is the land which I swear unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob.
I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over there.
And so it was that Moses died having never set foot in the promised land, and is buried in Moab in Transjordan.
But no man knows where even to this day.
The route of the Israelites into the promised land leads them through the Jordan River, a major obstacle that has to be crossed.
Moses is dead, but as the priests bearing the ark of the covenant step into the Jordan, the water dries up, and the Israelites pass on dry ground.
It is a token that the Lord God is with his people and with their new leader, Joshua.
Having crossed the river, the children of Israel camp in Gilgal on the plains of Jericho to spend the Passover.
From Gilgal they proceed to Jericho, at whose excavations we are now looking.
For six days the priests encompass the city while carrying the ark of the covenant.
On the seventh day the horns are sounded and the walls of the city fall down flat.
The Canaanite kings join forces against the powerful intruder, and the battle rages throughout the day from the city of Gibeon to the valley of Ayalon.
Nowadays the large monastery of the Trappist fathers, who produce their own excellent wine, commands the view where thousands of years ago Joshua issued the command.
Son, stand thou still upon Gibeon, and thou move in the valley of Ayalon.
Taking over the promised land was a long arduous process.
These are the mountains of Ephraim at the valley of Jezreel, where Deborah, a prophetess and a seer judged the children of Israel.
At the footsteps of another mountain, Mount Tabor, the sophisticated army of the Canaanites is defeated by Barak, whom Deborah counsels and guides throughout the battle.
Herod's spring, a favorite natural site in modern Israel. Here Gideon selected three hundred chosen warriors to fight the Midianites.
They were selected by noting the manner in which they drank from its water.
The scene shifts to Ashkelon on the seashore, one of five major Philistine cities.
The Philistines are a formidable enemy.
A legendary hero appears, Samson, a man of immense strength, dedicated to God from the womb.
Samson spreads terror and havoc among the Philistines, only to succumb later to the guiles of Delilah, a Philistine courtesan to whom he reveals the secret of his power.
He is taken captive, and his eyes are gouged out.
But in this wondrous tale of physical and spiritual power, he is redeemed by faith.
Held prisoner in the Philistine temple, he shatters the two main pillars, and the entire roof caves in on the ground.
So the dead which he slew at his death were more than those whom he had slain in his life.
This is the Valley of Elah.
Here at the foothills of the Judean Mountains, an Israelite army led by King Saul faces the Philistines again.
These giant antennae, Israel's means of communication with the world, are set for a terrifying giant by the name of Goliath, challenges the Israelite force.
The challenge is met by young David, an unknown youth.
Judging reality by appearance, Goliath mocks the young boy who dares to face him.
And David put his hand in his bag, and took out a stone, and slung it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, and he fell upon his face to the earth.
David, elevated from the position of the youngest brother who tends his father's sheep in the peaceful Valley of Judea, is chosen by God to become king.
War threatens once again, this time on the slopes of Mount Gilboa by the Valley of Jezreel.
King Saul and his sons are killed in battle.
The House of Saul is succeeded by the House of David, which is to rule for hundreds of years.
One of David's first actions as a king is the conquest of Jerusalem, the city of the Jebusites.
So David dwelt in the fort, and called it the City of David.
With the establishment of his new capital, David brings the Ark of the Covenant, which has been kept in Judea, into the city.
And his son, King Solomon, builds a house for the Lord's name, the First Temple, which is to stand for a thousand years.
Since then, Jerusalem has become the ultimate symbol of glory and kingly power for every Jew in the world.
A city where the deeds of the past merge with the last days of the future, when nations shall beat their swords into plowshares, and they shall learn war no more.
For three thousand years, since David first entered its citadel to establish his kingdom, and unto this day it has remained, and will remain, Jerusalem of gold.
The sacrosanct character of Jerusalem is so deep, that when King David, beloved of God, wishes to build a house for the Lord, his wish is denied because he is a warrior who has shed blood.
David dies, and is buried here on Mount Zion.
According to the Jewish faith, when the Messiah comes, he will be one of the House of David, and it is the Messiah, son of David, for whom the Jews pray at the King's tomb.
In the Kidron Valley, not far from David's tomb, is Absalom's pillar, built as an everlasting monument to David's son, who died in revolt against his father.
It was David's most bitter of victories.
As soon as his rule is established, King Solomon starts the actual construction of the House of the Lord, where the Holy Ark will stand.
His empire now stretches far and wide. He takes advantage of his control of the port of Joppa, through which he brings in the finest materials to be found in the world of his period.
According to Eilat on the shores of the Red Sea, his ships bring 3,000 talons of the gold of Ophir to be used in the temple.
Today, a resort beach town known throughout the world. In ancient times, Eilat is Solomon's gateway to the east.
It is also used by the Queen of Sheba, who arrives with a large retinue to examine for herself the wisdom of the wisest of all men.
King Solomon began to build the House of the Lord at Jerusalem, in Mount Moriah. A permanent altar is to be built on the same spot where Abraham was ordered to sacrifice his son to the Lord.
And the house which King Solomon built for the Lord, the length thereof was three score cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits.
And the oracle he prepared in the house within to set there the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord.
So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold, also the whole altar that was by the oracle, and he overlaid it with gold.
So was ended all the work that King Solomon made for the House of the Lord. Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and the heads of the tribes, and the priests brought in the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord unto this place, to the most holy place.
The sacred work of building the temple being complete, Solomon devotes his wealth and attention to other construction works. He builds three pools in the Royal Gardens at the vicinity of Bethlehem to serve as reservoirs of precious rainwater for the people of Jerusalem.
The town of Megiddo, which is essential for the defense of the kingdom, is greatly fortified. And stables and palaces are built there at the King's command.
Although the people of Israel enjoy peace and prosperity, King Solomon does not neglect to prepare for worse times for him and for his sons to come.
As a politically minded king, he forms an alliance with Egypt by wedding Pharaoh's daughter.
The great king who has no less than a thousand wives writes the noblest love ode of all times, the Song of Songs.
I am the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys. As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.
Behold, thou art fair, my love. Behold, thou art fair. Thou hast doves' eyes within thy locks, and thy hair is as a flock of goats that appear from Mount Gilead.
I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that ye stir not up nor awake my love until he pleaseth.
How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse. How much better is thy love than wine.
Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as a honeycomb. Honey and milk are under thy tongue.
Thy two breasts are like two young rolls that are twins. Thy neck is as a tower of ivory.
And thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners.
Peace time is over. Solomon is dead, and the kingdom is divided.
The house of David still reigns over Jerusalem and Judea.
But a new capital is established in Samaria under the house of Omri.
His son, King Ahab, fortifies and beautifies the city, enhancing it with temples of worship to foreign gods.
The children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the Lord their God, and they built them high places in the cities.
They set up images and groves in every hill and under every green tree.
Those images can still be seen in Megiddo and in the Banias area.
Despite the change of the religious climate, fearless and uncompromising men appear.
The prophets Elijah, Jeremiah, and Isaiah who warn the people that they will be punished for their wrongdoings.
The prophet Isaiah stands at the gates of the city. He has experienced a prophetic vision into the far distant future,
an apocalyptic view of Jerusalem as well as its redemption when the Messiah comes through this gate in the wall.
Gradually both kingdoms weaken and weaken. New conquerors appear to fulfill the worst of the prophets' visions,
the destruction of the kingdom of Israel and the exile to Assyria of the ten tribes.
Thousands of Jews are cut off from the rest of the nation forever.
A century later Jerusalem is conquered by the king of Babylon and the remainder of the nation faces a similar destiny, exile.
The house of the Lord is burnt to ashes.
This cave serves as a hiding place for King Zedekiah in his unsuccessful attempt to escape from the besieged Jerusalem.
The children of Israel bewail their fate. Nowadays they mourn the destruction of the temple in front of the last remaining vestige, its western wall.
In olden times they would sit by the rivers of Babylon in remote Assyria, weeping and praying for Jerusalem.
The prophet Ezekiel tells them of his vision. Little does he know that it will serve to comfort his people for thousands of years.
The hand of the Lord was upon me and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord and set me in the midst of the valley which was full of bones.
Son of man, can these bones live? O Lord God thou knowest. O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.
Behold I will cause breath to enter into you and ye shall live and I will lay sinews upon you and will bring up flesh upon you and cover you with skin and put breath in you and ye shall live and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
500 years separate the New Testament from the Old One.
During this period momentous developments took place over the entire Mediterranean region. A new power establishes its rule over the area, the Seleucids.
The children of Israel return to their homeland. The exile of Babylon is over. Indeed Babylon itself is no more.
They are granted royal permission to return to Zion by Cyrus, king of Persia.
Around Jerusalem, near Modain, the Maccabeans, a local Jewish family of patriots, are about to engage in battle with the Greek legions.
The clash between the two cultures is inevitable. The Greeks have provoked the rebellion by imposing a pagan cult on the Jews.
The Maccabeans succeed in overthrowing foreign rule and once again a kingdom is established in Israel known as the House of the Hasmoneans.
Caesarea on the shores of the Mediterranean. The Roman Empire is at the peak of its power and prestige.
Judea cannot hope to retain its independence in the face of the Roman warring machine.
Caesarea becomes the headquarters of the Roman legions sent to suppress the insurrection of the Jews against the new ruler.
They build an amphitheater in the city and a long aqueduct designed to conduct sweet water from the mountain springs to this important port town.
King Herod is one of the greatest builders of all time. Herodion, named after King Herod, is a palace and a fortress built over an artificial conic hill made by human hands.
It lies south of Jerusalem on the border of the Judean desert.
King Herod is appointed to his office by the Romans. Despite the fact that he is married to a descendant of the Maccabeans, the Jews do not look upon him as their legitimate ruler.
Disatisfaction develops and a revolt breaks out in the Galilee.
The heartless king sends Roman troops to suppress the rebels.
This mountain, Mount Arbel, witnesses a cruel battle where the Roman troops drag rebels out of these caves using long hooks and throw them over the cliff.
So the king, living in fear of his life, is busy fortifying the marvelous palace as he builds throughout the country for the king's leisure and protection.
In an endeavor to please his dissatisfied subjects, this master architect rebuilds the temple in Jerusalem.
Today only the western wall remains of that enormous building, the second house of the Lord.
Even in modern times, the tremendous size of the stones and the manner in which they were brought and put together to support the building is astounding.
Herod also builds Masada in the Judean desert. Originally intended as a resort palace beside the Dead Sea, it later becomes one of the most poignant symbols of Jewish resistance in history.
Once again the Jews are divided. The nation is split between factions and political rivalries.
One of these groups, the sect of Kumon, lives here in the wilderness of Judea.
It produces a library of scrolls. The Book of Daniel, which nurtures the hope of the coming of God's Kingdom and the downfall of earthly powers, is among them.
Dead Sea scrolls were found in this cave.
The shrine of the book in the Israeli Museum was especially built to house the Dead Sea scrolls.
The roof of the shrine represents the lid of the clay jars in which these scrolls were discovered.
In this period, a child by the name of Jesus is born.
Nazareth.
In Roman times, a small town on the mountains of Galilee.
A modest carpenter by the name of Joseph and his wife Mary are informed by an angel of the forthcoming birth of a child to be conceived by the Holy Spirit.
We count centuries and we count years from the time Jesus was born.
In fact, though, Jesus was not born in the first year of the Kumon era, but approximately four years before that, in 4 BC, the same year that King Herod died.
Bethlehem, a town in the Judean mountains where Rachel is buried.
Jesus is born here.
His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty Father.
When King Herod hears that the new king of the Jews has been born, he orders the slaughter of all newborn infants in Bethlehem, and some say in his entire kingdom.
Jesus is saved since his family is forewarned in time to escape the country.
A group of shepherds watching their sheep behold an angel who says to them,
Fear not, for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord.
An arid desert by the Dead Sea, a barren, inhospitable area where David once hid from Saul.
Here hermits, refugees, and fugitives from the law have always found sanctuary and seclusion.
At the spot where the Jordan River meets the Dead Sea, John the Baptist is preaching.
People from all over the country come to confess and to be baptized.
A newcomer from far off Galilee, young Jesus, is among them.
John is aware that he is only a messenger.
To the people around him he says, I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance,
but he that comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear.
He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.
Jesus meets four of the future disciples by the Sea of Galilee.
These are Peter and his brother Andrew and another pair of brothers, James and John.
All four are fishermen.
Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.
Kephar Cana in Galilee.
While attending a wedding there, Jesus' mother discovers that the supply of wine is running low.
Jesus tells the servants to fill the large clay jars with water.
They obey and are astonished to find that the water has turned into wine.
They follow him to Capernaum.
There they attend a synagogue service where Jesus heals a man possessed by an unclean spirit.
The synagogue of Capernaum is one of the oldest in the country.
It was built at the time of the Greeks and its style is reminiscent of Greek architecture.
As one of the first synagogues ever built, it served as a gathering place for the Jews of Galilee.
During the service, the Book of the Torah was placed in front of the congregation,
which prayed facing the direction of Jerusalem as Jews still do all over the world.
Jesus is thronged by crowds of followers.
He ascends the Mount of Beatitudes above Capernaum to deliver his sermon.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
When Jesus ends his sermon, people are left astonished.
They are amazed by his authority.
He appoints twelve disciples to whom he gives some of his power as his companions and co-workers.
Banias, also known as Caesarea Philippi, is a Roman site which was built on this cliff by Herod's son.
Here by the waterfalls, in view of the great cliff,
Jesus stands wondering whether his disciples believe him to be the Messiah.
These waterfalls provide the water to the streams which constitute the sources of the Jordan River.
Memorials to Jesus' activities are found all over Galilee.
Many churches such as this Byzantine church on the eastern shores of the Sea of Galilee
are built throughout the centuries to commemorate his presence.
West of the Sea of Galilee and overlooking the Valley of Jezreel, Mount Tabor can be seen.
It stands in the middle of a valley where Deborah the prophetess fought and won,
a thousand years before the birth of Christ.
This Franciscan church is built on the ruins of an ancient fourth century Byzantine church.
The Transfiguration of Jesus takes place here before Peter, James, and John.
There appear unto them the greatest prophets, Moses and Elijah.
Since then the sacred mountain is called the Mountain of Transfiguration.
Jesus' journey to Jerusalem begins in Galilee and continues through Samaria and the Jordan Valley.
Mount of Blessing overlooking Nablus.
Here, where their temple once stood, Samaritans offer the annual Passover sacrifice.
The Samaritans are descended from an ancient people.
They have preserved the original form of their heritage which is very much like Judaism.
Preparation for Jesus' formal entry into Jerusalem are made here in the village of Bethany.
Jesus descends Mount of Olives, followed by a huge crowd chanting,
Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord!
Jesus enters through the east gate and goes directly to the temple.
It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.
God's house is to be a house of prayer for all nations.
The Passover supper is to be served in the upper room of Mount Zion where King David is buried.
The festival commemorates Jewish exodus from Egypt.
While Peter and John are making their way to Mount Zion, Judas Iscariot is going to the chief priest.
When supper is over, they walk through the valley of Kidron and into Gethsemane.
Here in the garden surrounding the Franciscan church, Jesus feels that his end is near.
A crowd of soldiers led by Judas crosses the garden and seizes Jesus.
These ancient olive trees have been standing here for hundreds of years,
and many believe they witnessed the time of Jesus.
The procession passes through fourteen stations, one of which being this monastery of Echihomo.
The procession passes through fourteen stations, one of which being this monastery of Echihomo.
The procession passes through fourteen stations, one of which being this monastery of Echihomo.
Behold the man.
The crowd follow, chanting, Hail, King of the Jews!
Let him be crucified! Let him be crucified!
Finally, they reach the place of the skull, known in Hebrew as Golgotha, where Jesus is crucified.
As the Jew from Nazareth dies on the cross, the founder of Christianity is born.
The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is the most sacred church in the Christian world.
Jesus is stripped of his garments in an area now enclosed by the Church and nailed to the cross on which he dies.
His body is then taken down from the cross and laid here, according to Catholic tradition, in the Sepulcher.
Now in the place where he was crucified, there was a garden.
The Protestants, on the other hand, believe that Jesus' body was laid in this garden, near the gate of Nablus.
The destruction of the Second Temple, the total destruction of Jerusalem,
and the exile of the Jewish nation is far more tragic and horrifying than had been foreseen.
The revolt against the Romans starts in the mountains of Galilee,
spreading across the country to Gamla Fort in Jerusalem, where the rebels try unsuccessfully to defend themselves.
Four thousand men are slaughtered by the Romans. Another thousand throw themselves over the cliff.
The insurrection ends in the greatest Jewish calamity of all times until the Holocaust.
The
It was built and fortified by King Herod as a place of refuge against a possible Jewish insurrection,
or worse still, against an Egyptian invasion led by Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt.
For the rebels, this is the last stronghold where they may hold out against the enemy.
Under the command of Aliezer, son of Yair, they build an impregnable fortress on top of the mountain.
For seven years they live there as the last independent Jewish community left in the country.
They build their own synagogues and bathhouses.
Three years previously, Jerusalem is destroyed by Titus.
The Romans are now free to deal with this last stronghold.
The legions camp at the foot of the huge cliff, but they are unable to break through its fortifications.
After holding out for three years, the rebels on Masada decide to kill themselves rather than surrender to the enemy.
Every one of whom lay himself down by his wife and children on the ground, and threw his arm about them,
and they offered their necks to the stroke of those who by lot executed that melancholy office.
Finally, the Romans entered the palace, containing the multitude of the slain, but could take no pleasure in the fact.
Avdat was first built by the Nabataeans, Arab nomads who turned it into a city of commerce.
It was an important station on the ancient route to Eilat and from Eilat to the Far East.
By this period, Romans have already accepted Christianity, and under Roman rule, the deserted city of Avdat is built again.
St. Theodore Church seen here is a relic from that period.
St. Theodore himself was a Greek martyr of the fourth century.
This monastery stands next to the church.
It was built by Christian monks who had decided to settle here in the wilderness of the Negev.
Byzantines have left remarkable signs of their rule in the land, for they have built numerous churches, castles, and fortresses.
Yet some Jews would always remain in the country, trying to preserve their heritage.
They managed to maintain the Jewish Supreme Court, the Sanhedrin, which sits here in Beit Shareem.
Beit Shareem is also the home of one of the most famous Jewish scholars, Rabbi Yehuda Hanasee, who compiles the Mishnah.
Here he is laid to rest with his two sons. Stone coffins engraved with various motifs in the chambers of the catacombs.
This mosaic floor with the Hebrew inscription, Peace upon Israel, is found in a synagogue near Jericho.
The building is very ancient, providing us yet again with another proof of the existence of Jews in this land throughout the ages.
May they be well remembered. May their memory be for good. Amen.
The Muslims conquer the country.
Descendants of the Prophet Muhammad spread the word, and Islam becomes the religion of the Middle East.
The temple area is renamed Al-Haram Al-Sharif, after Sharif Omar, who conquers the city.
A Muslim legend claims that Muhammad ascended to heaven from this very place.
The octagonal dome of the rock, the most beautiful mosque in the Islamic world, is built by Abd al-Malik.
The mosque is set above the rock from which Muhammad took off.
Jerusalem and the temple area are considered sacred Muslim sites, second in sanctity only to Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.
Jerusalem, called Aelia Capatolina in Roman times, now becomes Al-Quds, the holy sanctuary.
Ancient Jericho, renamed Tel-e-Sultan by the Muslims.
Luxurious palace is built here for Caliph Hisham of the Umayyad dynasty.
Damascus, the Umayyad capital, is far away in Syria, and the palace in Jericho serves as a winter resort for the Muslim rulers.
During Muslim rule, many mosques are built around the country, particularly in major cities such as Hebron and Jerusalem, adding yet another layer of religious significance.
The Christians return to the Holy Land because Europe bitterly resents Muslim presence here.
Crusades are led by Richard the Lionheart and King Gottfried, together with French, German, and English troops.
This fortress, Belvoir, is aptly named by the French crusaders who built it.
The fortress commands a sweeping view over its surroundings, Jordan Valley and the mountains of Gilead in Transjordan.
Yet the country is never deserted by the Jews.
Several Jewish communities still exist in Jerusalem and Hebron, in Tiberias, in Galilee, and in Safed, the center of Jewish mysticism, the Kabbalah.
The country is taken over and retaken over time and time again.
Salah ad-Din, the Muslim warrior, recaptures the land, and the Muslims return to the holy sites.
The walls surrounding Old Jerusalem are built on ancient foundations.
They are increased in their present height in the time of the Turks.
The walls around the city have eight gates, which are still commonly used for entering Old Jerusalem.
The wheels of time keep turning.
Like many a conqueror before him, Napoleon Bonaparte dreams of founding an eastern empire.
He would like to cut off India from British control, as it has been throughout the centuries the land of Israel lies in his way.
He fights in Gaza and invades the country, pushing up north.
Napoleon is defeated at the fortress of Acre and is forced to flee the country.
Jerusalem, the first Jewish suburb outside the walls of the Old City, is built at the initiative of Sir Moses Montefiore.
Modern Jerusalem is thus born.
It soon expands to outgrow the Old City.
In the meanwhile, another immortal figure of Jewish revival, Baron de Rostschine, lays down the foundations of modern agriculture in the land.
Zikron Yoko, established in this period, is the first Jewish agricultural settlement.
Rishon Leziun is another such settlement.
Pioneers draw the strength to keep on working in the faith that the state of the Jews will indeed become a reality, as Theodor Herzl has envisaged.
The Zionist movement spreads in the diaspora.
Jews are called to return to their homeland.
World War I, the land which is still ruled by the Turks, is in the throes of war.
Finally, the British general Allenby invades Israel and enters the Old City through the Jaffa Gate, thus commencing the era of the British Mandate period.
In the land of Israel, the Jewish people came into being.
In this land was shaped their spiritual, religious, and national character.
Here they lived in sovereign independence.
Here they created a culture of national and universal import and gave to the world the eternal book of books.
These are the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence of Israel, delivered at the time of the War of Liberation.
A day after the Declaration of Independence, the War of Liberation breaks out.
The country is besieged.
Yad Mordecai, a newborn kibbutz in the south inhabited by survivors of the Holocaust, is cut off.
The few warriors withstand the attacks of the Egyptian army and its armored divisions.
Yad Mordecai becomes a symbol of heroic determination.
A state is born.
The land of Israel is the meeting place of Orient and Occident, of north and south, old and new, of the religious and the secular.
Here tradition and culture intermingle. Past and future merge. Dreams and reality coexist.
This land, which means so much to so many throughout the whole world, should become a living melting pot from which one word will emerge, peace.
In this land, prophets of three major religions in the world walked and preached.
Let the message of hope, written by Isaiah, be sent from this eternal city where he addressed the whole world and predicted,
The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead it.
Amen.