Indiana Jones and the cave of John the Baptist

Written by moshe reinfeld


Continued from page 1

St. Luke tells us that John was born when Herod wasrepparttar tetrarch of Galilee. It means John lived when Herodrepparttar 134087 2nd, son of King Herodrepparttar 134088 Great, ruledrepparttar 134089 northern andrepparttar 134090 eastern part ofrepparttar 134091 country. Many years later, this tetrarch (Roman prince) arrested John and executed him in a brutal way, by beheading him.

Why was he imprisoned and eliminated? Some ofrepparttar 134092 Gospels tell us that John rebukedrepparttar 134093 tetrarch publicly for his evil deeds. Butrepparttar 134094 great Jewish historian Josephus tells us another story. John was regarded as politically dangerous. St. Matthew insinuates that this version is reliable, when he says that Herod "fearedrepparttar 134095 multitude, because they counted him (John) as a prophet".

The main contribution of Josephus to our story is telling us where John was imprisoned and murdered. It was inrepparttar 134096 fortress of Machaerus (Mikhvar, in Hebrew),repparttar 134097 remains of which can be seen nowadays inrepparttar 134098 kingdom of Jordan.

Kibutz Tzuba (the correct Hebrew name is Tzova) whererepparttar 134099 cave was found, is located only four kilometers from Ein kerem, which probably wasrepparttar 134100 birthplace of John, as mentioned above. But we should recall that John did not operate there. He needed "much water". In Tzuba-Ein-Kerem area water is scarce. The Historical sources putrepparttar 134101 scene in a different site:repparttar 134102 Jordan River, apparently near Jericho. Why not believe them?

A few hundred meters fromrepparttar 134103 Tzuba cave, onrepparttar 134104 top of another hill,repparttar 134105 remains of a small fortress can be seen. The Crusaders built it to control a secondary way to Jerusalem, used by Pilgrims. Those daysrepparttar 134106 Crusaders did not controlrepparttar 134107 main road to Jerusalem any more, and had no choice but to use their productive imagination to "create" new "biblical sites". Nearby Abu Ghosh is one of them. It became Emmaus.

Isrepparttar 134108 Tzuba Cave a modern such an adjustment of versions? May be .But it could also be a place where Johnrepparttar 134109 Baptist really did some baptizing. Why not? He was born not far away from there. His parents could still live in Ein Kerem. May be he usedrepparttar 134110 cave when he came to visit them?

We are dealing here with speculations. And these are beyondrepparttar 134111 scope of our discussion. Most ofrepparttar 134112 Holy sites in Israel are believed to berepparttar 134113 original ones without having any firm scientific proof. Does it matter? Apparentlyrepparttar 134114 answer is negative. Belief is a matter ofrepparttar 134115 heart, not of science.

What Archaeologists do know for sure is thatrepparttar 134116 Tzuba cave was used by Jews for a long period of time, starting duringrepparttar 134117 reign ofrepparttar 134118 Judean kings some 600 years before John's time. It continued to be used by Christians until 300- 400 years after John's time. There are some carvings from that time onrepparttar 134119 wall which are symbols related to Johnrepparttar 134120 Baptist, including his image, a drawing of his decapitated head and a cross shape.

Insiderepparttar 134121 cave, archaeologists found many pottery shards, indicatingrepparttar 134122 cave could be used for baptizing. Is it enough for proving anything? The answer is no. Is it worth a visit? The answer is absolutely yes. But for that purpose people should wait. The cave has not yet been opened to visitors.

The Author is a freelance journalist and a tour guide in Israel

Websites:

http://israel.electrical-contractor.net/

http://pr4u.bravehost.com/

http:// tourisrael.friendpages.com


Sonoma Valley Wineries And Wines

Written by Ben Bicais


Continued from page 1

Terroir

The terroir ofrepparttar Sonoma Valley AVA is dominated by unpredictable fog patterns. A substantial amount of fog fromrepparttar 134086 Southern San Pablo Bay regularly coversrepparttar 134087 region. Additionally, a lesser amount of fog creeps through a gap inrepparttar 134088 mountains near Santa Rosa inrepparttar 134089 north.

The Southern Sonoma Valley is very cool and includesrepparttar 134090 eastern part ofrepparttar 134091 Carneros AVA. Temperature steadily rise as one travels north. The town of Sonoma is located about one-third ofrepparttar 134092 way north withinrepparttar 134093 AVA and has a moderate, pleasant climate. The northern towns of Glen Ellen and Kenwood are substantially warmer.

Wines, Wineries, and Varietals

As alluded to earlier, unpredictable fog patterns make it difficult to typecast specific areas inrepparttar 134094 Sonoma Valley AVA as being suited to particular varietals. Although exceptions abound, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay generally thrive inrepparttar 134095 southern part ofrepparttar 134096 Appellation. Atrepparttar 134097 same time, there are areas around Kenwood inrepparttar 134098 northern part ofrepparttar 134099 AVA that produce great Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Pinot Noir from Sonoma Valley varies dramatically fromrepparttar 134100 south torepparttar 134101 north. Northern Pinots have almost Rhone-like characteristics, while southern Pinots are lighter and more reminiscent of production fromrepparttar 134102 Russian River Valley.

The eastern hills ofrepparttar 134103 valley below Sonoma Mountain are increasingly best known for Zinfandel. McCrea Vineyards is an exceptional example of this production. While great Cabernet Sauvignon can also be found onrepparttar 134104 Eastern Sonoma Mountain, Louis M Martini's Monte Rosso inrepparttar 134105 Western Mayacamas Mountains has arguably beenrepparttar 134106 most consistently excellent Cab grown by any Sonoma Valley Winery. Exceptional Gewurztraminers and Sauvignon Blancs are also produced inrepparttar 134107 Sonoma Valley AVA.

Ben Bicais lives in the Napa Valley and is the webmaster of http://www.california-wine-tours-and-accessories.com


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