International Travel Guide
Indulgence In The Ultimate Getaway At Switzerland's Beau-Rivage Palace
Digging Into Israel's Past Reveals Historic
RelicsTravel to Israel and you discover a history is a living part of the
region as about 1,168,000 international tourists discovered earlier this
year. And, if you're planning an escape to Israel there are some exciting
historic treasures to discover.
During excavations at the Peace
Forest outside Jerusalem in 1990 two rusty bent nails were discovered. In a
new study by journalist Simcha Jacobovici it has been determined that these
could very well be the original nails used to crucify Jesus. The nails were
located within two ossuaries, or stone vessels used to case bones of the
dead according to Second Temple period customs, and feature inscriptions
bearing the name Caiaphas--the family name of the Jerusalem high priest in
Jesus' time and one of the primary antagonists in Christian scripture.
Among the recent discoveries is n Aegean-style painted plaster floor
adorned with floral and marbled motifs, which was found during an ongoing
excavation at the Tel Kabri excavation site in the Western Galilee. The
fresco, which was discovered inside a Middle Bronze Age Canaanite palace, is
the first of its kind to be discovered in Israel, opening a new window on
the presence of ancient Minoans in the eastern Mediterranean.
Also recently discovered was a 1,500-year-old
Byzantine church unearthed on an uninhabited hill southwest of Jerusalem
during an exhibition led by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). The
church site included exquisitely preserved mosaics depicting peacocks,
lions, foxes, and fish, and included caves, agricultural installations and
extensive underground hiding tunnels. The church is believed to have been
built atop another structure 500 years prior, and was identified by a number
of scholars as the location of a major community. The church will be
transformed into a tourist site in the future following preservation efforts
by the IAA.
The remains of St. Therese of Lisieux, a revered French
nun who died more than 100 years ago, arrived in Israel as part of a recent
world tour to countries containing Catholic holy sites. St. Therese, whom
Mother Teresa was named after, is one of only a few Doctors of the Church,
which is a designation granted to distinguished Catholic thinkers. To
celebration the arrival a ceremony was held at Tel Aviv's Ben-Gurion
International Airport, and included 60 nuns, priests and local Catholics
welcoming the Saint's arrival. The relics have traveled to Spain, and will
continue to be shown around the world on this tour of these amazing relics.
With such a rich religious and cultural history, there are certain
to be more amazing relics discovered in Israel in the future!
By Nick Worley
Learn More: To learn more about Israel's historic treasures, and plan your trip use the following link: