Ministry of Tourism Oral Final Exam Questions:

Subject:

Herodion:

  1. Tell us about the water source of Herodion
  2. What is the origin of the water at Artas?
  3. Is there an additional use of the water "spaces" in Herodion and if so, from what period?
  4. Did any special events take place in pools?
  5. Name other Herodian palaces.
  6. How come people did not like Herod?
  7. Why did Antipater convert?
  8. Which of the Hasmoneans forcibly converted the Edomeans?
  9. Who was the father of Antigonus and Hyrcanus?
  10. Is there any site named after Alexander Yanai?
  11. Name Herod’s building projects
  12. Describe how Herodion was built

The City of David

  1. What are the geographic borders of the City of David?
  2. When was the Siloam inscription found?
  3. Why is it in Turkey?
  4. Can artifacts/antiquities be taken out of Jerusalem?
  5. Why did the Jews in the First Temple period make the Siloam inscription back then?

Mishkenot Sha'ananim

  1. When was this neighborhood built?
  2. Who settled in Mishkenot?
  3. What did they live off of?

Caesarea:

  1. Why was Caesarea built where it was built?
  2. Who built Caesarea?
  3. When was Caesarea built?
  4. What is special about the construction of the port?
  5. Was this built as a Jewish city?
  6. What was the relationship like between the Jews and Christians?

Zichron Yaacov

  1. What are the various topics one could talk about in Zichron?
  2. How was the town organized?

Western Wall Tunnels:

  1. What do we see at the northern end of the tunnel? Describe the water system there? What are its characteristics?
  2. Is there something that contains water today?
  3. Why did Herod want to rebuild the Temple Mount? Why rebuild a holy structure?
  4. What is the proof that Herod's mother was Nabatean?
  5. How much time passed between the Return to Zion and Herod's rebuilding of the Temple?
  6. How long did the Temple stand in its glory?
  7. Can we see any part of the Temple today?
  8. Where is the Al-Aksa mosque on the diagram we can see of Sec Temple period Temple Mount?
  9. Can we access the Temple Mount? Where do we not have access to on the Temple Mount?

Southern Wall Excavations

  1. Pilgrims arriving in Jerusalem; what did they do before they ascended to the Temple Mount?
  2. If you are standing at the base of the Temple Mount in Herod's day, please name the gates along the Western Wall.
  3. How come the priests (in Herod's time) would not wish to descend to the valley below the Western wall before ascending to the Temple Mount?
  4. What was Robinson's Arch used for?
  5. What is the proof that the Temple Mount is Mt. Moriah?
  6. Was there a logic behind Herod's killing or was it simply random?
  7. Why would the Jews want to back Miriame's (Herod's Hasmonean wife) brother as the High Priest (and as a candidate to replace Herod as king)?
  8. What money was used to build the Temple?
  9. Who were the people who built the Temple?
  10. Why would a Christian group find the Southern Wall stairs relevant?
  11. There are 4 gates in the Western Wall, what are their names?
  12. There are Umayyad remains here, where else can we find Umayyad remains in the country? What period are we speaking of? Periodization?

The Burnt House

  1. What finds/artifacts found in the Burnt House are similar to those found in the Herodian Mansions?
  2. Why is the Burnt house called the burnt house?
  3. From what period is the Burnt House?
  4. Where are there remains from the 1st Temple period in the Jewish Quarter?

Gethsemane:

  1. What is the Jewish date of the Pascal meal?
  2. How old are the Olive trees in Gethsemane?
  3. What is at the Cenacle?
  4. What can be seen at the room of the last supper?
  5. When was the mosque here built?
  6. Why is this site important to Moslems?
  7. When did Islam begin?
  8. When did Mohammed die?
  9. Why did the Moslems come to Jerusalem? Why did they conquer the Land of Israel?
  10. How does Barluzzi’s design of the Church of Agony express the spirit of the event?
  11. One of the members of the group walks up to you in the garden of Gethsemane and informs you that he needs to leave the country immediately. What do you do?

Zionist Settlement:

  1. What is the first topic one would broach/talk about when arriving at Hanita?What is similar about it and Tel Amal/Nir David?
  2. Please describe the following: Kibbutz, Moshava, Mitzpe.
  3. Connect the above to the various Aliyot
  4. What is the difference between Shlomi and Carmiel from a settlement concept?
  5. What is the first thing you would talk about with a group when arriving at Kibbutz Hanita? What kind of settlement was this?
  6. What characterizes the settlers of the 1st Aliyah? What years was this Aliyah?
  7. What years was the 2nd Aliya?
  8. What is the difference between the 1st and 2nd Aliyot? Compare and constrast.
  9. By and large, where did the 2nd Aliyah settle? (geographically).

Ein Gedi:

  1. In what context does Josephus mention Ein Gedi?
  2. What Biblical references are there to Ein Gedi?
  3. What kinds of flora/vegetation can one see in the area of Ein Gedi?
  4. What does a plant do to survive in the Desert/
  5. How would you define the climate in Ein Gedi?
  6. How would you brief people before entering the Dead Sea for a swim? How would you tell them to swim? (not face down)
  7. What would you talk about to a group on a bus on the way from Ein Gedi to Jerusalem?

Beer Sheba

  1. Drive through modern Beer Sheva. What can one say about the city?
  2. How was Beer Sheva taken?
  3. What interesting cemetery can we find in Beer Sheva?
  4. At Tel Beersheba, are there remains from later periods, such as the Roman period?

Sde Boker:

  1. What was Ben-Gurion's vision, and where did he live in the desert?
  2. What project did Ben-Gurion take upon himself with regards to the Tanakh?
  3. Who built the Negev Brigade monument?
  4. How did Ben-Gurion relate to the Negev? Politically? Spiritually?
  5. What can one see inside the historical museum at Sde Boker?

Tel Faher:

  1. What were the results of the battle of Tel Faher?
  2. What was the intelligence assessment about Tel Faher?
  3. What was the next target for the IDF after the fall of Tel Faher?
  4. What is TAP?
  5. How was Birkat Ram created?
  6. What can you tell us about the people living in the area of Birkat Ram? (the Druze).

Questions from a Travel Agent:

  1. Your guests are staying in one of the hotels on the beach in Tel Aviv. Suggest a one day walking tour. Suggest a half day walking tour.
  2. Suggest a tour of Jerusalem by night.
  3. When you enter Jerusalem for the first time with a group and it is around 16:00 in the afternoon, where would you wish to do an introductory panoramic observation point?
  4. A protestant couple is staying in Haifa. Put together a one day tour of the Galilee for them.
  5. You pick up a Catholic group at the airport. What is the first briefing you give them on the bus? What is the first information that you are giving them?
  6. The aforementioned group has arrived on the eve of Yom Kippur. What information would you share with them?
  7. Tell me about the election system in Israel.
  8. What is "eco-tourism"?
  9. What actions do you take when you are leaving a hotel with a group?
  10. You are driving on the road from Acre to Safed. Take your group to a Druze village. Which one? What would you do there? What would you talk about?
  11. You are in a terrible car accident with your group. What do you do?
  12. What is an optional tour? What is a regular tour?
  13. Please give us a half day tour of Modern Jerusalem.
  14. What are the crossing sites between Israel and Jordan (Sheikh Hussein, Adam, Allenby/King Hussein, Arava/Rabin). Are they all at the same status?
  15. When you bring your group to the ancient site at Capernaum, will the ticket booth accept a travel voucher?
  16. What instructions would you give your group as they were getting off the bus and checking into a 5-star hotel?
  17. A student comes up to you in the middle of the hadracha (e.g. at Tel Faher) and tells you that he has received an urgent call from the States informing him that he must go back to the US immediately. What do you do?
  18. Put together a half day itinerary for a Jewish group in the Old City of Jerusalem.
  19. Put together a Biblical tour of the Beit Shean Valley – Jezreel valley
  20. What is the system of government in Israel? (he asked it this way – what is the government/governing system in Israel?).
  21. You are taking a group on a walking tour of Old City Jerusalem. How would you handle a person who can't walk up hills?
  22. What is the population in Israel?
  23. You are organizing a Bar Mitzvah trip which requires you to have a ceremony with the Torah reading. What days would be relevant to organize this on?
  24. What do you brief a group while entering through the Jaffa Gates (about security precautions, etc)?
  25. Take a Jewish couple, starting in Haifa and plan a one day itinerary
  26. You arrive at a hotel and you have a voucher that says 10 doubles, 2 singles and half-board. What does this mean?
  27. Take a Catholic couple that is staying in Haifa for a one day tour of the North that focuses on Christian sites.
  28. You drive from Jerusalem through Ein Karem and up towards the Sataf. What would you explain about the terraces at Sataf? What other options for irrigation here does one have?
  29. What is the Dead Sea famous for? What is so special about it?

Haifa

  1. Name some ethnic minorities in Haifa
  2. Where is there a Carmelite site in Haifa?
  3. The German Colony – what were Germans doing in Haifa?

Tel Aviv/Jaffa

  1. In the foyer of the Shalom tower there is a mosaic. How does it help the guide explain the development of Tel Aviv?
  2. When and where did Meir Dizengoff spend time up north?
  3. What is special about Neve Tsedek?
  4. What are the main Christian interests in Jaffa?
  5. Standing at the visitor's center outside, look across the plaza and tell us the name of the church there. Why is it oriented the wrong way?
  6. What is special about St. Peter's in Jaffa? Which direction is the Church oriented?
  7. Please name another church in Jaffa.
  8. Why was Tel Aviv chosen as a World Heritage site? What does Bauhaus mean? Where can you see it in Tel Aviv?

Tel Azekah

  1. What historical periods are covered in this site?
  2. When was Saul's kingdom?
  3. What other finds (aside from basic Iron age) can be found here?
  4. Are there Bar Kochba caves here?

Beit Guvrin/Maresha:

  1. When was Tel Maresha first excavated and by whom?
  2. Why was the Tel recovered after the initial excavation?
  3. What remains do we have here?
  4. Is Beit Guvrin and Maresha the same? If not, then what is the difference?
  5. From what periods do we have remains here?
  6. Is there anything Jewish here?
  7. How does the hoard found in the villa enable us to date the destruction of Maresha?
  8. Was John Hyrcanus' forced conversion an original idea or was it something acceptable to do at the time?
  9. What written sources do we have from this period?
  10. What did the inhabitants here do for a living?
  11. Tell us something about the Sidonian cave. What were the Sidonians doing in Maresha?

Mitzpe Ramon/Ramon Crater

  1. What is a Machtesh? How is it formed?
  2. What kinds of geological phenomena can be seen in Machtesh Ramon?

Judaism:

  1. What is written in the Mezuza?
  2. What is "בין המיצרים" (the 3 weeks)?
  3. Why is Tiberias important to the Jews?
  4. What are the 4 holy cities in Judaism?
  5. How would you date Rambam? What is his connection to the Land of Israel?
  6. You are with first time tourists to Israel and they see people with white strings coming out of their clothes. Explain.
  7. Explain the black garb of Ultra-Orthodox Jews.
  8. What is Parshat Hashavua?פרשת השבוע
  9. What is Tzome Gadaliya? צם גדליה
  10. Are there laws – Halachot – pertaining to animals.
  11. Is it written somewhere that you must treat animals well?
  12. What is the Tosefta? Who collected it?
  13. What is Torah Shebaal pe – (Oral Law)? Who does not accept it?
  14. What is the Moslem equivalent of Oral Law?

Islam

  1. What is the original direction of prayer for Moslems?
  2. Are you allowed to go into a mosque if you are not a Moslem?
  3. When did the Sunni and Shiites split (when did the big split occur?)?
  4. Name two major Islamic structures on the Temple Mount
  5. When were they built? What was their purpose?
  6. Are they both mosques?
  7. What do Moslems need to do before they go into a mosque?
  8. What is written law and what is oral law in Islam?
  9. Who built the White Mosque? Where and when?
  10. Please name the 5 pillars of Islam.

Tsippori:

  1. Was Tsippori a Jewish City? What can we find in Tsippori that would indicate that it was Jewish?
  2. What is pagan in Tsippori? Give two examples.
  3. Is there a church in Tsippori? If so, then what is its name and from what time period is it? Where is it located?
  4. Is Helios really located in the synagogue?
  5. When was the Amidah inaugurated? Was it said 3 times a day in the 5th century?
  6. Where is Tsippori mentioned in primary sources? What do we know about Tsippori in the 1st century CE?
  7. Are there any anomalies about the synagogue?
  8. Is there any sign in the floor that indicates they knew where Jerusalem was?
  9. When did they start excavating Tsippori? Who excavated it?
  10. How do you pay the entrance fee for a group arriving in Tsippori?

Acre:

  1. What are the two main periods in Acre's history?
  2. Please name two main religious sites in Acre. To whom are they dedicated and why?
  3. Why was the Al-Jazar Mosque built?
  4. Please briefly describe the main Crusader sites of Acre.
  5. Who built the walls of Acre?
  6. Describe the Crusader aspects of Acre.
  7. Why has Acre won UN world recognition?
  8. When and why did Napoleon attempt to conquer Acre? Why did Napoleon fail to conquer Acre?
  9. Trace a tour route from Acre to Jerusalem.
  10. What is important about the mosque in Acre?
  11. Tell us a little about the prison. What was its role vis a vis the Bahai?
  12. Name some of the personalities held in the prison.

Safed

  1. Who was the population of Safed in the 16th century?
  2. Please name major Kabbalistic figures from Safed

On the Roads:

  1. What road would you take from the Sea of Galilee up to the Golan?
  2. You are driving up to Jerusalem from the airport with a Catholic group that has just arrived. What topics would you talk about with them on the bus ride?
  3. Drive from Masada to Jerusalem. What would you say to a Christian group?
  4. What do you see along the route when driving along the coastal road from Acre to Ashkelon?
  5. You are driving from Haifa to Tel Aviv along the coastal road. What are the topics you will talk about en route?
  6. Take us from Arad to Dimona, what can we see along the roadside? What can you tell us about the Bedouin?
  7. What are some of the issues about Route 6? Pros and Cons.
  8. Drive from Jerusalem to the Judean Desert – what are 3 subjects one can talk about on the way to the northern part of the Dead Sea?
  9. Go from Latrun to Jerusalem – please mention the Crusader sites one finds en route.
  10. What sites/events would you talk about on a tour bus travelling from Shaar HaGai to Jerusalem? (Crusader and Muslim sites)
  11. Driving from Ben-Shemen to Lachis, what topics/themes can one talk about?
  12. Going south toward Eilat, from the Arava junction, what can you talk about from the bus?
  13. Driving from the Sea of Galilee to Jerusalem, choose a route and what would you speak about?
  14. What do you see on the Jordanian side? What does it look like (physically, geographically, vegetation, etc.).

Church of the Holy Sepulcher

  1. Please give 3-4 stages in the History of this church.
  2. Why was the church built here?
  3. Give us the dates of change with regards to the Church (turning points) in chronological order.
  4. What archaeologically existed before the construction of the church?
  5. Please name stations 10-14 in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Jerusalem:

  1. Please give 4 sites related to the last week of Jesus' life.
  2. Please give 4 sites related to Jesus' life (in Jerusalem).
  3. Please give 2 miracles performed by Jesus in Jerusalem.
  4. What would you tell tourists about Masada?
  5. What year did the Great Revolt break out? Why?
  6. How and when did the Crusaders conquer Jerusalem? Describe the siege of Jerusalem
  7. Who was the Muslim commander who conquered Jerusalem in 638?
  8. What was the relationship between Omar and the Jews?
  9. Please give examples of Mameluke architecture in Jerusalem
  10. You are with a Catholic group at the observation point on the Mt. of Olives.