Home to three of the world's great religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam - Israel occupies a unique position at a crossroads of civilizations. Israelite cities, Roman amphitheaters, Byzantine churches, Crusader castles and Muslim mosques - all are testimony to the various peoples who have occupied the land. Israel: Splendors of the Holy Land celebrates this wealth with magnificent color photographs of the country's monuments and art treasures, its towns and cities, people and landscapes, as it takes the reader on a journey of discovery from the shores of the Mediterranean to the sands of the Negev.The wide-ranging text gives an overview of Israel's history and provides a fascinating tour of such places as Masada, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem, as well as less familiar sites and cities in the deserts and mountains. The locations are illustrated with site plans and photographs of the principal structures and objects found at each. Full-color reconstruction drawings restore some of the most imposing cities to their former glory - Jerusalem in the time of Herod, the Crusader port of Acre and the Roman-Byzantine city of Beth Shean - and cut-away and perspective diagrams help to explain complex buildings, such as the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Dome of the Rock. Aerial views capture the variety and grandeur of the country's landscapes, while portraits of the people and present-day life complete this study of Israel, the land of the Bible. Read Less