THIRTY-SIX ministers, evangelists, Bible teachers, administrators, doctors, editors, and laymen from ten countries (United States, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Oki nawa, Germany, Britain, and Bermuda) participated in the fourth Bible Lands study tour sponsored by the SDA Theo logical Seminary. Following the tradition of the earlier tours of 1957, 1959, and 1966, the 1975 tour also combined on-site lectures by Dr. Siegfried H. Horn with guided visits to all the important sites of Biblical interest in Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Israel. For the convenience of delegates, the four-week tour, beginning on June 8 and ending on July 6, was organized to precede the General Conference session in Vienna. It was led by Drs. Lawrence T. Geraty and James J. C. Cox both from the Seminary.
To assist those interested in making a similar trip on their own, the tour's itinerary follows:
Iran (4 days)
Teheran archeological museum (cylin der seal of Darius the Great, terra-cotta guardian bull from the gate of the Choga Zanbil ziggurat, bas-relief from Persepolis depicting Darius I and Xerxes I, lapis-lazuli head of Xerxes I, scale model of Persepolis, contents of the "Treasure Room"), Golestan Palace, Sepahsalar Mosque, the crown jewels (world's largest diamond, Peacock Throne), National Arts Museum (craft workshops), Shahyad Monument (foundation tablets, view), SDA mission.
Pasargadae--Tomb of Cyrus, Audience Palace (Cyrus inscription), Gatehouse
(winged angel relief), Residential Palace (Cyrus relief and inscription).
Naqsh-i Rustam--tombs of Darius I, Xerxes I, Artaxerxes I, Darius II.
Persepolis--numerous structures on terrace platform, as well as tombs on hill.
Haft Tepe--royal Elamite tomb with one of earliest-known vaults.
Choga--Zanbil best preserved ziggurat and largest man-made structure in Iran.
Susa--Daniel's tomb on the Ulai River, the Apadana with the palace of Darius I.
Behistun--inscription not included in tour but should be seen if possible.
Iraq (5 days)
Qurnah---traditional Garden of Eden at the confluence of Tigris and Euphrates rivers, bus trip to Nasiriya through the picturesque Marsh Arab region.
Ur of the Chaldees---temple tower (ziggurat), royal tombs, dwelling quarters.
Baghdad---archeological museum (earliest clay tablets and cylinder seals known, objects from royal tombs at Ur, Tell Harmal lions, Nimrud ivories, Sargon II reliefs, winged human-headed bulls, Assyrian king lists one discovered by Siegfried Horn glazed bricks from Babylon's Ishtar Gate), copper bazaar, Kadhimain mosque, Adventist church, and former Adventist hospital.
Tell Harmal--site of discovery of the law code of Eshnunna.
Aqarquf—temple tower (ziggurat) of unusual construction.
Ctesiphon—the Sassanian arch is the widest single-span vault of unreinforced brickwork in the world.
Babylon—city walls, museum, procession street, southern palace of Nebuchadnezzar, hanging gardens, Ishtar Gate, lion, temple tower, Temple of Marduk, ancient course of the Euphrates, Emach Temple.
Kish—temple towers.
Birs Nimrud—temple tower.
Mosul—archeological museum, leaning minaret.
Nineveh—Tell Nebi Yunus, with the palace of Esarhaddon and a mosque venerating Jonah; Tell Kuyunjik, with the palace and library of Assurbanipal, the palace of Sennacherib, and the Nergal Gate; the city ramparts, Shamash Gate.
Khorsabad—city gate, Sargon's palace, Sibitti sanctuary (Assyrian altars).
Nimrud (Calah)—temple tower, palace of Assurnasirpal II, Burnt Palace, Nabu Temple of Adad-Nirari III, Fort Shalmaneser III.
Mar Behnam—medieval church and monastery.
Egypt (4 days)
Cairo—Ramses Square and Adventist Center, Citadel, Alabaster Mosque, Al- Azhar Mosque and Islamic University, Bazaar, Egyptian Museum (the Squatting Scribe, Proto-Sinaitic inscriptions, Hathor cow with Thutmose III, Amarna room, Tut ankhamen collection of treasures, Merneptah stele, Palermo stone, Narmer palette, Book of the Dead, mummy room, wood models of everyday life).
Heliopolis—obelisk, "virgin's tree," Adventist mission.
Giza—pyramids, sphinx, Thutmose IV stele.
Memphis—alabaster sphinx, Ramses II statue.
Saqqara—Zoser step pyramid, Mastaba of Ti, Serapeum.
Luxor—temple complex.
Karnak—temple complex—the largest in the world (note reliefs of Thutmose III, Ramses II, Shishak).
Thebes—Tombs of the Kings, Deir el- Bahri, Rameseum, Medinet Habu, Colossi of Memnon.
Aswan—First Cataract, Old Dam, New High Dam, Philae Temple, granite quarry with unfinished obelisk, Elephantine Island (Nilometers, Yahweh Temple), Kitchener's Island, Agha Khan Mausoleum, Kalabsha Temple.
Abu Simbel—temples of Ramses II and Nefertari.
Lebanon (3 days)
Beirut—Pigeon Rock, American University of Beirut, Middle East College and Adventist churches, Grand Mosque, National Museum (alphabet gallery, scale model of Baalbeck, Ahiram sarcophagus, Aramaic sundial, Sidon sarcophagus with Phoenician ship, inscription of Bernice and Herod Agrippa II).
Sidon—Crusader fortresses, Temple of Eshmun.
Zaraphath—archeological excavations, including Phoenician port.
Tyre—Alexander's causeway, harbor, archeological excavations including Roman city ruins, necropolis, hippodrome.
Dog River—inscriptions of Ramses II, Esarhaddon, and Nebuchadnezzar.
Byblos—Frankish castle, Phoenician tombs, obelisk temple.
Baalbeck—altar court, temples of Jupiter, Bacchus, Venus, quarry with world's largest hewn stone.
Syria (2 days)
Damascus—National Museum (objects from Palmyra, Mari, and Ugarit—including stone inscribed with world's oldest alphabet; reconstructed Dura-Europos synagogue), Hamidiyeh bazaar, Mausoleum of Saladin, Umayyad Mosque (Temple of Hadad, Jupiter), Azem Palace, Street Called Straight, House of Ananias, St. Paul's Window. Palmyra (optional).
Jordan (2 days)
Jerash—Hadrian's triumphal arch, South Theater with inscriptions, Forum, Temple of Artemis, columned street and tetrapylon, Cathedral church and baptistries, Jabbok River.
Amman—Roman Theater, Citadel, archeological museum (Jericho skulls, Nabataean artifacts, Citadel inscription, Qumran copper scroll and writing bench, Heshbon objects),
Heshbon—archeological excavations of Andrews University, including the pool of Song of Solomon 7:4 and the only rolling-stone tombs east of the Jordan.
Mount Nebo—view of Palestine and Byzantine monastery.
Madeba—mosaic map of Palestine.
Petra—the Siq, the Treasury, Roman Theater, Robinson's High Place, Umm el- Biyara, ed-Deir, numerous tombs.
Israel (9 days)
Jordan River and Dead Sea.
Qumran—Dead Sea Scroll caves and Essene community.
Jericho—OT and NT sites, Mount of Temptation.
Jerusalem (Old City)—Temple area on Mount Moriah, including current archeological excavations, el-Aksa Mosque and Dome of the Rock with the site of Solomon's altar of sacrifice, the Wailing Wall at Sabbath sunset, Jewish Quarter, city gates, Pool of Bethesda, Via Dolorosa, including Pilate's judgment hall, Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Citadel with David's Tower, bazaar.
Jerusalem (East)—Mount Scopus, Mount of Olives with ascension site, Garden of Gethsemane with the Church of All Na tions, Kidron Valley with the so-called Tombs of Absalom, Jehoshaphat, James, and Zechariah, Gihon Spring, Hezekiah's tunnel, Pool of Siloam, Ophel, Mounts of Offense and Evil Counsel, Hinnom Valley, Potter's Field, Bethany with the tomb of Lazarus, Bethphage, Good Samaritan Inn.
Jerusalem (South)—Mount Zion with Basilica of the Dormition, House of Caiaphas, Last Supper Room, Tomb of David, Ramat Rahel.
Jerusalem (West)—Herod's family tomb, Advent House, Monastery of the Cross, Knesset Hebrew University, Yad Vashem Memorial, Ein Karem, Hadassah Hospital, Kirjath-Jearim, model of Ancient Jerusalem, Israel Museum (Dead Sea Scrolls, Masada scrolls, Bar Kokhba letters, sacrificial altars from Arad and Hazor, "Cave of the Treasure" copper and ivory objects, Hazor lion orthostat, Hazor citadel-gate, "Sabbath Ostracon" from Mezad Hashaviyahu, "Gold of Ophir" ostracon, Hebrew royal stamped jar-handles, Ashdod stele of Sargon II, Amazia "Jerusalem" inscription, Roman Tenth Legion tiles, Pontius Pilate inscription from Caesarea, Uzziah tomb inscription, Jerusalem menorah depiction).
Jerusalem (North)—Garden Tomb, Gordon's Calvary, Solomon's quarries, Albright Institute of Archeological Research, Tomb of the Kings, Adventist East Center, Rockefeller Museum (Mount Carmel man, Megiddo horned incense altar, Canaanite idols, Megiddo ivories, Samaria ivories from Ahab's palace, Philistine pottery, Lachish letters, Jewish ossuaries, Megiddo stable troughs, Egyptian stelae erected in Pales tine, Umayyad art from Jericho, former Dead Sea "Scrollery"), Gibeah of Saul, Nebi Samwil, Gibeon, Ramah, Mizpah, Beeroth, Bethel, Ai.
Samaria—Jacob's Well, Sychar, Mounts Ebal and Gerizim, Shechem (east and west gates, Temple of Baal-Berith with standing stone, Middle Bronze Age city wall), Nablus (Samaritan synagogue), Samaria (Palace of Omri and Ahab, Temple of Augustus, Roman forum and theater, Church of John the Baptist, Hellenistic round towers, Israelite walls and gate), Dothan.
Galilee—Taanach, Plain of Esdraelon, Megiddo (water tunnel, grain silo, Ahab's stables, Solomonic Gate, huge Canaanite outdoor altar), Shunem, Nain, Endor, Mount Tabor, Mount Gilboa, boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, Tiberias, Capernaum, Mount of Beatitudes, Tabgha, Ginnosar, Chorazin, Golan Heights, Birket Ram, Mount Hermon, Nimrod Castle, Caesarea Philippi, Dan (including archeological excavations and sources of River Jordan), Lake Hula, Hazor (Solomonic Gate, walls, and storage building, Israelite houses, Canaanite temples, water tunnel, Ayelet Hashahar Museum), Safad, Meiron (arche ological excavations), Cana, Nazareth (Greek and Latin Churches of the Annunciation, Mary's well, Mount of Precipitation).
Mediterranean Coast—Haifa and Mount Carmel (Carmelite Monastery of Elijah), Atlit, Dor, Caesarea (Roman aqueduct, theater, hippodrome, harbor, Byzantine street with headless statues, Crusader fortress, archeological excavations), Lydda, Tell Qasila, Tel Aviv, Joppa, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Lachish, Marissa, Eleutheropolis, Valley of Elah, Azekah, Beth-shemesh.
Judaea—Bethlehem (Rachel's tomb, Church of the Nativity, Manger Square, Jerome's cell, Shepherds' Field), Herodion, Tekoa, Beth-zur, Valley of Eshcol, Hebron (Cave of Machpelah, Mamre, glass and pottery workshops), Beersheba (well of Abraham, Camel market, archeological excavations at Tell Sheva), Arad, Masada (water system, Roman wall and army camps, Herodian palaces, baths, store rooms, swimming pool, oldest synagogue, Byzantine church), En-Gedi.
Flight to Eilat on the Red Sea and St. Catherine's Monastery at Mount Sinai (optional).
Future Seminary-sponsored Bible Lands Study Tours will be organized as the demand for such arises.
