Just outside of Zion Gate is a cluster of religious sites that will be especially popular in Jerusalem this week as Jewish and Christian feasts converge and bring to light these locations on Mount Zion.

The Jewish Feast of Shavuot (Weeks), celebrated by Christians as Pentecost, begins on Tuesday evening. The holiday comes 50 days after Passover and Easter.

The site of the Upper Room is a memorial to Jesus’ Last Supper and the place the disciples waited for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit after Jesus’ ascension into heaven, both of which are believed to have occurred in the general vicinity.

“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.” Acts 2:1-3

The site is also holy to the Jews as the traditional location of David‘s tomb. Mount Zion Church, with the Last Supper and Upper Room, is one f

The New York-based World Monuments Fund (WMF) has placed the Cathedral of St. James in the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City on its 2010 watch list of 93 cultural heritage sites at risk in 47 countries. The list, which is the WMF's flagship advocacy program, is intended to call international attention to threatened landmarks. The 2010 Watch ranges from famous sites like Machu Picchu, Peru to the unexpected like the Merritt Parkway, Connecticut. The Old City of Lod is the second Israeli site on the newly-released list.

"The 2010 Watch makes it clear that cultural heritage efforts in the 21st century must recognize the critical importance of sustainable stewardship, and that we must work closely with local partners to create viable and appropriate opportunities to advance this," said WMF president Bonnie Burnham in a press release. "The sites on the 2010 Watch list make a dramatic case for the need to bring together a variety of sectors -economic, environmental, heritage preservation, and social - when we are making plans that will affect us all. Greater cooperation among these sectors would benefit humanity today, while ensuring our place as stewards of the Earth for the next generation."

"The World Monuments Watch has evolved since its incep

On January 24, 1986, two fishermen in the Sea of Galilee made a fascinating discovery. Today, their discovery-the Jesus Boat Revealed-is an inspirational experience, a historic artifact, a meticulous reproduction, a national museum of antiquities, a book, and a fascinating DVD. Most importantly, it's a phenomenon with the power to unite a nation.

When Yuval Lufan and his brother, Moishale, uncovered a boat, which-against all odds-had survived for nearly two millennia submerged in mud, they triggered an avalanche of miraculous events. The subsequent excavation, recovery, and scientific analysis of the vessel confirmed it had been constructed during the time of Christ, and possibly, even, belonged to the Messiah Himself.

"The boat changed everything in my life," says Yuval Lufan, a lifelong fishermen from the Galilee seaside village of Kibbutz Ginosar. "The boat gave my life new meaning and purpose. It helped me to find my faith, to find God. This discovery is the greatest thing I could have dreamed of.

The wilderness of Zin, probably one of the most beautiful and peaceful locales in Israel,  yet few pilgrims or other tourists ever venture there.

Sure, its a bit out of the way. Most Christian tourists traditionally know of the Galilee (including Nazareth) and Jerusalem. and yes, most of us have heard of the Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth. But with only 7 or 10 days generally dedicated for traveling in the Holy Land, often the desert experience just doesn't make the cut.

But it should. True, perhaps Jesus did not cross the valley of Zin -but our forefathers did and it is mentioned at length in the Old Testament. The Zin desert  is the  Biblical desert from which the 12 spies were sent by Moses to tour the promise land.  The Zin River marks the historical b