The other day we went on a little sightseeing trip!

According to the history of the land, the Babylonian Empire was predominantly in what we now call Iraq. There are several key historical sites in Iraq such as the birthplace of Abraham (Ur), the city of Babylon, the city of Nineveh (ref: Jonah and the whale), etc. If there are Old Testament scholars out there, you will recall the story of the prophet Daniel, covered in the Book of Daniel.

According to the Bible, three Jewish friends of Daniel: Shadrach, Meschach and Aben-nego, refused to worship a statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had built for his people. Because they refused to worship they were thrown into a fiery furnace that had been heated "to seven times its normal heat." Not only were they unharmed, but they were accompanied by a fourth figure who "looks like a god" and was later identified by Nebuchadnezzar as an angel.

Why am I writing all of this? Well, we were able to visit the purported site of the fiery furnace. It is called the �Eternal Flame� by the locals and for some reason the fires still burn to this day.

So, being the adventurous guy that I am, I decided to get my picture taken while in this �fiery furnace�. Yes, it was hot - I actually walked through the pit being very careful not to step on the actual fires and not to breathe too much since it was so hot. And, by the way, the place really, really smelled of sulphur. But I am glad I got to see a biblical place.