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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In order for a Byzantine basilica to be built in Makor, what must be destroyed to make room for it?
(a) Thirty Jewish buildings.
(b) Part of the wall that surrounds Makor.
(c) Part of the irrigation system.
(d) The library.

2. As John Cullinane looks at newspaper clippings with photos of Vered Bar-El, what does he realize?
(a) She may get a permanent job in the United States.
(b) She looks like his first wife.
(c) He misses being in the United States.
(d) He's still in love with her.

3. Why does Rabbi Eliezer, a German Jew in Gretz, decide to leave Germany with his wife Leah and their family?
(a) He is publicly humiliated and his synagogue is torn down.
(b) He wants to enjoy the better weather of Spain.
(c) A cousin in Makor urges him to move there.
(d) He is offered a better position in Tunis.

4. What is Father Vilspronck's role in the book's final chapter?
(a) Help with the analysis of the basilica uncovered at Makor.
(b) Remind Cullinane of the Irish lady who loves him.
(c) Identify relics from the castle uncovered at Makor.
(d) Help Cullinane win the heart of Dr. Vered Bar-El.

5. What kind of place is Tubariyeh?
(a) Very cold at an elevation of ten thousand feet above sea level.
(b) Very hot and located at nearly seven hundred feet below sea level.
(c) Moderate even though it's eight thousand feet above sea level.
(d) Moderate and at sea level.

6. While the Gottesmanns and other Jews sing sustaining songs at Safed, what does Rabbi Itzik do?
(a) Harvests grapes from his vineyard.
(b) Conducts a private wedding ceremony.
(c) Meets with the mayor of Safed.
(d) Leads Talmud study sessions for his group.

7. At the end of the book, Tabari explains that he has never left the area because _____.
(a) An ancient curse prevents him from leaving.
(b) The land is special to both Arabs and Jews.
(c) The food here is the best anywhere.
(d) His dead wife is buried on the hilltop, and he wants to be near her.

8. What is the earliest date that Makor hears about Jesus Christ and his crucifixion?
(a) 31 C.E.
(b) 59 C.E.
(c) 238 C.E.
(d) 172 C.E.

9. In 1500, Safed is a sleepy town of a thousand inhabitants. Within ninety years, it becomes a bustling city of approximately how many inhabitants?
(a) Two hundred thousand.
(b) Three thousand.
(c) Sixty thousand.
(d) Fifteen thousand.

10. Who opposes the plans Isidore Gottesman and other Jews are making for Safed?
(a) Rabbi Itzik.
(b) Vered Bar-El.
(c) Netanel Hacohen.
(d) Ilan Eliav.

11. In "Twilight of an Empire," who is the ruler of Tiberias, a city that is called Tubariyeh in 1880?
(a) Faraj ibn Ahmed Tabari.
(b) Mameluke Volkmar.
(c) Ilan Vered.
(d) Kerith El Hopoe.

12. When does intense fighting between Arabs and Jews begin in Safed?
(a) February 3, 1947.
(b) May 6, 1948.
(c) December 12, 1947.
(d) August 19, 1948.

13. After winning Safed over to the Jewish state, Gottesmann and other Jews go on to fight at Akka and:
(a) Jerusalem.
(b) Tiberias.
(c) Nazareth.
(d) Bethlehem.

14. As Volkmar, the eighth Count of Gretz, thinks about what went right and what went wrong during the Crusades, he concludes that _____.
(a) The Crusaders should have killed fewer people.
(b) The French should have been eliminated.
(c) The Turks should have been eliminated.
(d) Children should not have been killed.

15. Shmuel Hacohen seeks help from the leader of Tubariyeh to do what?
(a) Collect enough money to sail to Italy.
(b) Ask the Sultan to send a delegation to Spain.
(c) Acquire land where incoming Jews can settle.
(d) Bring the rest of his family to Tubariyeh.

Short Answer Questions

1. Abd Umar believes that the Jews discovered God, that God sent Jesus Christ as a prophet, and that God sent Muhammad as the next prophet, making Islam what?

2. In the last chapter, Cullinane is surprised to discover that Ilan Eliav has been offered what?

3. After Christianity is declared the religion of the empire, what does Rome want to build in Makor?

4. After sailing for Salonica in 1541 before the Inquisition reaches Italy, where do Rabbi Zaki and his family ultimately settle?

5. When Faraj ibn Ahmed Tabari travels to Akka by caravan, who does he encounter?

(see the answer keys)

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