Think of it, three of the world's five major religions all began in that very spot On the one hand, it's such a very common and ordinary spot, too. But for all of its commonness and in all of its ordinariness, it is the place where three of the world's greatest religions were born.

I could not find any book that really prepared me for this trip. I promised myself I would write one simple enough for anyone to understand: a guide that would explain some of the unexplained mysteries and collect all the various names for a place so it could be charted on a map. I tried to write objectively―but I am a Christian: born, raised, and remain in the Bible belt, so my perspective probably reveals unintended bias. I am not trying to convert anyone, just presenting the facts and letting the reader make their own conclusions.

Since this book is about travel and not intended to be scholarly, I won't burden the pages with sources and footnotes. My sources are very general and ordinary with a complete bibliography at the end, and I do include Bible references at times. The acronyms for different Bible versions are in the "Bibliography by Title" section at the back.

This nonfiction book is fully illustrated with more than two hundred photos, mostly by the author, and includes many maps of the area. More than a travelogue featuring biblical events showing where each actually took place more than two thousand years ago, this book also describes what it might be like to visit that place now. It is my hope this journal will at least in some small way provide information to make such a trip more rewarding for you, and that the book will be treasured as a historical record of travel in the late 20th century and early 21st.

It took twenty years, two trips to Israel, tons of research, and now here it is. If you have ever dreamed of visiting this incredible country, this book is for you.