and now, for centuries everyone has searched for its treasures. from knights templar to modern adventurers. but what do we really know about king solomon s temple? back to the beginning with christiane amanpour continues. on our journey through the lands of the bible we found ourselves lingering in the old city of jerusalem here in this place that is so sacred to jews, christians, and muslims. it is easy to imagine your way back to around 970 b.c., when the bible says the famous king solomon reigned. solomon became in a sense the very ideal of the oriental emperor as the sort of magnificent king. under david and solomon the israelites were able to
suspect somewhat metaphorically that we still worship false ido idols, whether it s, you know, money or fame or a big house or the right fashion, just the right pair of shoes. all of these could also be false idols. reporter: so it seems that despite solomon s best efforts he too was a disappointment. and before he side, as a punishment, god told him the kingdom he loved would be no more. coming up what do we know about the ark of the covenant? and why have so many thought they could find it? we head deep under the city of jerusalem. it s a journey to find the ark of the covenant when back to the beginning with christiane amanpour continues. [ tires screech ] chewley s finds itself in a sticky situation today after recalling its new gum.
and there is one theory that he took away the ark of the covenant. this is where we get the indiana jones theory. he may have taken the ark back to the city of tannis. reporter: archaeologists find the evidence of that underwhelming and believe the ark is no more likely to be buried in the sands of tannis than locked away in a government warehouse. bureaucratic what did they say? they don t know what they ve got there. reporter: strangely enough, our search for the ark also brought us back to jerusalem, to the church of the holy sepulc r sepulcher, the place christians believe jesus was crucified. hello. very nice to see you in this beautiful, beautiful spot. reporter: we met an ethiopian orthodox priest named abasamuel, who surprisingly told us that he knows exactly where the ark is. his evidence goes back to that affair between king solomon and the queen of sheba. queen of sheba s son with
it s a very common human yearning to feel that god is here among us and that in this abode we have built, that is where god dwells with us on earth. reporter: and the bible says that solomon placed the ark of the covenant at the center of the temple in the most sacred spot. but it said that the temple was destroyed when the babylonians sacked jerusalem around 600 b.c., and ever since then this is where many people believe that the great temple once stood. a mountaintop in the center of the walled old city. it is a storied place, layered with spiritual meaning and now dominated by the golden dome and a muslim mosque. but just a short walk away outside the city walls a picture is emerging of the ancient and humble beginnings of jerusalem, which the bible says was founded by solomon s father, david. the city of david was a rather small settlement, hardly
he was not surprised by the fact that she was a queen and she rules a nation. according to ethiopian tradition, during their meeting solomon and sheba became lovers. and the ethiopian royal family descends from their union. when the koran gives you this example of such a powerful female ruler, this inspires me. this tells me i have a place in the world of politics. reporter: and while it s possible that solomon s wisdom may have attracted those seeking his counsel, so too would the temple that he s said to have built. solomon s temple was of course an astonishing building. reporter: in the bible pages and pages are devoted to describing the temple. solomon s temple, as far as we can tell, was built as a replica of the garden of eden. when human beings and gods lived close by one another. reporter: and through the ages people have imagined what it might have looked like.