Jerusalem  - Pope Benedict XVI will tour a series of Biblical sites during his eight-day visit to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian autonomous areas. These are the main ones:

Jordan:

Mount Nebo - An 800-metre-high summit in north-western Jordan, where according to the Bible Moses viewed the Promised Land before his death.

Located less than 30 kilometres south-west of Amman and under 50 kilometres to the east of Jerusalem, Mount Nebo overlooks the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea. On a clear day Jerusalem is visible in the far distance to the west.

After his arrival in Jordan for the first leg of his tour of the Holy Land, Mount Nebo is the first holy site the Pope is scheduled to visit.

Madaba, known as the City of Mosaics for its ancient mosaics, including a sixth-century one of the Holy Land. Now one of the largest cities in Jordan with an old Christian community, it was once inhabited by the Moabites, a historical people who lived in Moab, the mountain range running along the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. Mentioned several times in the Bible, it was a bishop's see in early Christian times. The Pope will drive through the city's Christian quarter in his Popemobile.

Bethabara, also known as Bethany beyond the Jordan, or Bethany of Transjordan - the site on the Jordan River above the Dead Sea, where according to the New Testament Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist.

Jerusalem:

Church of the Holy Sepulcher - believed to be where Jesus was crucified and resurrected and as such regarded as the most important site in Christianity. Constantine the Great, the first Christian Roman emperor, built a church on the site in the fourth century. It was rebuilt in the 11th century, and later added onto by the Crusaders, after it was all but destroyed on the orders of a Muslim ruler in 1009.

Believed to mark the hill of Golgotha, the final stop on the Via Dolorosa, it has been a major pilgrimage destination at least since the fourth century.

Valley of Jehoshaphat, known in Hebrew as the Kidron valley and in Arabic as Wadi Jauz, is a gully between the Old City of Jerusalem's eastern wall and the Mount of Olives, where many faithful believe the Last Judgment will take place. It therefore contains many cemeteries. The Pope will hold mass here.

Bethlehem, southern West Bank:

Church of the Nativity, believed built on the site of the stable were Jesus was born.

The fortress-like structure is one of the oldest continuously operating churches in the world. The main body was built in the sixth century by Byzantine Emperor Justinian I, replacing an earlier, fourth-century Constantine church, which was burnt down in a sixth-century revolt against the Byzantines by the local Samaritans. Crusaders also added their touches.

The compound is administered jointly by the Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian denominations, who each have their own area but share the Grotto of the Nativity, the underground chamber believed to mark the exact spot of Jesus' birth.

The Pope is scheduled to pray privately in the grotto.

Nazareth, northern Israel:

Church of the Annunciation, said to mark the site where the angel Gabriel announced to Mary she would give birth to the son of God.

The 1969 basilica was constructed on the site of a 12th century Crusader church, built in turn on the ruins of a Byzantine church. A sunken enclosure, the Grotto of the Annunciation, is said to mark the exact location of the Biblical event.

Mount Precipice, a hilltop south of Nazareth overlooking the Yizrael Valley where according to the New Testament angry Jewish worshippers drove Jesus out of their synagogue and attempted to throw him of the cliff, but he disappeared "through the midst of them". (Luke
4, 29-30).

The Pope is scheduled to hold the Holy Mass there on Thursday morning, May 14. Papal visit Press Secretary Wadie Abunassar said the Catholic church chose Mount Precipice as the location for the mass, both because of its symbolism and because it can physically hold a large number of people. Between 40,000 - 50,000 pilgrims are expected to attend.

The Pope is also slated to visit two key Muslim and Jewish holy sites on and near the Old City of Jerusalem's Temple Mount/ Holy Sanctuary: The Dome of the Rock and the adjacent Western Wall.

Muslims believe the Dome of the Rock, situated next to al-Aqsa mosque, marks the spot from where their Prophet Mohammed ascended to heaven.

The Western, or Wailing, Wall is a retaining wall of the platform on which the Jewish Biblical Temple once stood, and as such revered by Jews as its only still standing remnant. (dpa)