Christiane Bible Journey
The Bible tells us the Garden of Eden was near four rivers. Two of them, the Tigris and Euphrates, are in modern-day Iraq, which leads scholars to believe the Garden was likely located in the fertile crescent region of Mesopotamia. The lush garden could have looked something like this Iraqi marsh. "Back to the Beginning," a two-part series, airs first on Friday, Dec. 21 at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.
Ghassan al-Yassiri/AP Photo
Christiane Bible Journey
The Bible tells us the Garden of Eden was near four rivers. Two of them, the Tigris and Euphrates, are in modern-day Iraq, which leads scholars to believe the Garden was likely located in the fertile crescent region of Mesopotamia. The lush garden could have looked something like this Iraqi marsh. "Back to the Beginning," a two-part series, airs first on Friday, Dec. 21 at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.Ghassan al-Yassiri/AP PhotoChristiane Bible Journey
It may look like a cow patch, but to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, this land was the place where Adam and Eve lived after they were expelled from the Garden of Eden. The place is called Adam-ondi-Ahman, and it's near where Mormons believe the actual Garden was.ABC NewsChristiane Bible Journey
In the Bible, Abraham receives a call from God to leave his former life behind. These boys live along Abraham's Path in Turkey, a walking route in the Middle East that traces the footsteps of the journey Abraham took.David Landis PhotographyChristiane Bible Journey
Anna Landis, far left, is an American writer working on a guidebook about Abraham's Path, a walking route that traces the footsteps of Abraham's journey throughout the Middle East. Anna joins a Turkish family for a meal that emphasizes hospitality, which was one of the most important values in Biblical times and still is today across the region.David Landis PhotographyChristiane Bible Journey
A little more than an hour south of Amsterdam, in a shipping town called Dordrecht, Dutch millionaire Johan Huibers has constructed an ark based on the measurements in the Bible. For now the ark houses plastic animals, but tourists are treated to a visit from a live lion or tiger once per week.ABC NewsChristiane Bible Journey
Christiane Amanpour interviewed Johns Hopkins University archaeologist Betsy Bryan in the grandeur of Temple at Luxor. Bryan explained the pharaoh Ramses, who some think was the pharaoh of the Exodus, had his workmen build these structures to glorify his name and reign.Shawn BaldwinChristiane Bible Journey
Zahi Hawass, a prominent Egyptian archaeologist, took Christiane Amanpour to Giza to investigate whether the Israelites were the builders of the pyramids. Wall carvings on the structures provide evidence that the builders had Egyptian, not Israelite names and other remains suggest these workers ate meat every day, not exactly the diet of slaves.Shawn BaldwinChristiane Bible Journey
Christiane Amanpour took a felucca boat ride down the Nile to explore the birth of Moses. The Bible says when Pharaoh decreed that all Hebrew first-born babies be killed, Moses' mother floated him down the Nile in a basket to spare his life. The river was crucial to the livelihood, and almost all of the Biblical stories stress the importance of water and the danger of drought and famine.Shawn BaldwinChristiane Bible Journey
Walking in Moses' footsteps, Christiane Amanpour and her son Darius hiked up Mount Sinai just in time to watch the sunrise. It was on this peak where it is believed that God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, the laws that form the moral foundation of the Torah, Old Testament and Quran.ABC NewsChristiane Bible Journey
The Dome of the Rock, also known as the Temple Mount or the Haram esh-Sharif, is one of the most important and contentious religious sites in the Middle East. Christians and Jews believe this was the place that Abraham brought his son Isaac here for sacrifice. Muslims believe the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven from this spot in his Night Journey.ABC NewsChristiane Bible Journey
Solomon's Quarries, sometimes called Zedekiah's Cave is a massive cavern underneath the Old City of Jerusalem. Legend had it for centuries the stone used build Solomon's Temple was taken from this quarry. Others suggested that the Ark of the Covenant was -- and maybe still is -- hidden in the cave's depths. No archaeological evidence to support these stories exists.ABC NewsChristiane Bible Journey
This star marks the spot in Bethlehem where Christians believe Jesus was born in the Church of the Nativity.ABC News
