Many readers of this blog, and friends, have asked me about the details of the examination to become a tour guide.

The exams are held twice a year by the Ministry of Tourism, and are in two parts.

First is the written exam, taken by hundreds of candidates simultaneously in Jerusalem’s International Convention Centre. The written exam itself consists of two parts. Part A is a series of 50 multiple choice questions testing your knowledge of history, geology, geography, flora, fauna, religion, politics and culture, and lasts for one hour. It is worth 30% of the exam. After a short lunch break, you return for Part B, a gruelling three-hour marathon where you have to build an itinerary for one of three groups, fill in a table with details of timings, logistical points (payments, toilets, advance reservations etc) and the outline of your guiding. A whopping 20% of the marks for the exam are awarded for an ‘elaborated point’ in this section – you choose one part of one site in your itinerary and write a full page of A4 with exactly the text as you would guide it. For Part B, you are allowed to bring in a map of Israel, but the rest has to come from your memory.

Assuming you hit the 65% pass mark (and many don’t) in the written exam, you are then invited to a 30-minute oral exam in the Ministry of Tourism offices. More on that to come!

Having now taken (and passed – hurrah!!) the written exam, I feel happy to share some details of what I went through. For now, I have uploaded Part A of the written exam (the multiple choice) I took for you to test yourselves and see whether you might be able to qualify as a tour guide in Israel! If you are interested in Part B (the itinerary), keep an eye on the blog and I shall post it next week.

[please note: all the spellings have been copied from the test I was given – I took the exam in English and the translation from the original Hebrew was not always the best!]

Tour Guide Licensing Exam — Part A

Test your knowledge

50 questions, one correct answer each. Answer them all, then see how you score against everyone who has taken it before you.

Ruhama was established:
As part of the Three Outposts (shloshet hamitspim) As part of Tower and Stockade (homa umigdal) As part of the Eleven Points In 1911
With which region in Israel is modern olive oil production associated?
The Upper Galilee The Judean Lowlands The Negev All of the above
A desalination plant connected to the national system is located in:
Akko Ashkelon Nahariya Be'er Sheva
On which type of rock is Tel Aviv built?
Dolomite Limestone Calcareous Sandstone (kurkar) Tuff
Which of the following can be found in the desert?
Fat sand rat (psamon), Nubian ibex (yael), tamarisk (eshel), twisted acacia (shita slilanit) Persian fallow deer (yahmur), hedgehog (kipod), willow (arava), myrtle (hadas) Hyrax (shafan), water buffalo (te'o), carob (haruv), plane (dolev) Gazelle (tsvi), porcupine (dorban), palm tree (dekel), strawberry tree (ktalav)
Tristram's grackle (tristramit) can be seen at:
Nimrod's Fortress (Qal'at Namrud) Caesarea Apollonia Masada
Where can we show tourists evidence of volcanic activity?
Western Galilee, Samaria, Judean Mountains, Makhtesh Ramon (Ramon Crater) Golan Heights, eastern Galilee, Carmel, Makhtesh Ramon (Ramon Crater) Golan Heights, Meron Mountains, Ramat Menashe, Philistine Plain (mishor pleshet) Carmel, Judean Lowlands (shfelat Yehuda), Negev Highlands (ramat hanegev), Eilat Mountains
The camel's major adaptations to the desert are:
Storing water in its hump and its light colour Rumination and long eyelashes A special digestive and circulatory system and long legs Water in the hump and teeth adapted to the desert
The 'Egyptian Gate' is associated with the journey of:
Ramses Thutmose Pharaoh Pepi Pharaoh Shishak
According to the Bible (Old Testament) which of the following prophets was active at the time of Sennacherib's march?
Jeremiah (Yirmiyahu) Ezekiel (Yehezkel) Samuel (Shmuel) Isaiah (Yeshayahu)
The flat 'round structure' at Tel Megiddo is usually associated with:
Food storage Stables Worship Fortification and defense
Indisputable evidence for Biblical names was found at the archaeological excavations at:
The City of David hilltop The 'Tombs of the Davidic Dynasty' The Garden Tomb The Broad Wall
Alexander the Great captured the Land of Israel from the:
Seleucids Babylonians Persians Ptolemaic Kingdom
Where can tourists see a remnant of the aqueduct that transported water to the Temple Mount?
Near the Mamilla Pool and in the Jewish Quarter In the vicinity of the Armon HaNatsiv Promenade and on the Mt. Zion slopes At the Burnt House and at the Siloam Pool (brehat hashiloah) At the Towers (Hezekiah) Pool and the Western Wall Tunnel
For which emperor was Caesarea named?
Julius Antonius Tiberius Augustus
One of the main reasons Masada was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site was:
The remains of the Roman siege system The 'lots' room The synagogue The bathhouse
Who is believed to have been buried in Beit She'arim?
Rabbi Yohanan Ben Zakai Rabbi Moshe Haim Luzzato Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai Rabbi Yehuda HaNassi
There is a hypothesis that the Church of the Sepulcher was built on the spot where there formerly stood a temple to:
Artemis Aphrodite Astarte (Ashtoret) Hathor
Where can remains of Umayyad palaces be found?
Ramle and Lod Metsad Ateret and Qal'at Namrud Jerusalem and the Jericho area Jerusalem and Akko
In which compound were the Maria Grande and Maria Latina churches located in [sic]?
Templar Hospitaller Teutonic Lazarist
Remains of Crusader fortresses built along the coastal plain can be seen at:
Atlit and Arsuf Ashdod and Ashkelon Shikma and Dor Tel Kasila and Nahariya
The decisive battle between the Mamluks and the Mongols took place in:
Yarmukh Kadesh Marj Dabek Ain Jalut
During which period was the institution of the waqf established?
Rashideen (Four Caliphs) Ayyubid Mamluk Ottoman
With which aliyah was the beginning of modern Jewish settlement in the Yizre'el and Harod valleys primarily associated with?
First Second Third Fourth
The following settlement was included in the Arab state according to the UN resolution of November 29:
Tsefat Nahariya Um Rashrash Netanya
Lova Eliav's name is associated with establishing settlements in:
Pit'hat Shalom and the Lakhish Region The Lakhish Region and Nitsana The Segev Bloc and the Tefen Bloc Kfar Vradim and Karmiel
Where is the closing ceremony of the Holocaust Remembrance Day held?
At the Western Wall Plaza At the Scroll of Fire Memorial Plaza At the Ghetto Fighters' House museum At the Yad Mordechai Memorial Monument
Which of the following paratroopers from the Yishuv in the Land of Israel fought against the Nazis in Europe?
Haviva Reich and Eliyahu Golomb Mordechai Anielewicz and Abba Kovner Abba Kovner and Haviva Reich Enzo Sereni and Hannah Szenes (senesh)
The obelisk in Ashdod was erected:
In memory of Egyptian soldiers By Muhammad Ali In memory of Napoleon's soldiers In memory of the Giv'ati battles
The monument next to the Locomotive enclosure in Be'er Sheva was erected in memory of the:
ANZAC soldiers who fell in World War I Negev Brigade soldiers Turkish soldiers who fell in World War I The invading Egyptian soldiers who fell in battle
Tel Shilo is located:
In the State of Israel In the Palestinian Authority Under Israeli civil and security control Under Israeli security control and Palestinian civil control
What is an 'optional tour'?
A tour offered to tourists in their free time at additional cost An alternative tour - an alternative option to the tour offered in the program A regional tour focusing on a specific subject An alternative tour the guide prepares in case of weather problems
The following tourist sites are free of charge:
The Temple Mount, the Church of the Sepulcher, Kursi Pater Noster, Gethsemane (gat shemanim), Jaffa port Ramat HaNadiv, the Temple Mount, Mensa Christi The Bahai Gardens, the Muhraka, Shuni
According to Jewish tradition, the walls of Jerusalem were breached on the:
Third of Tishrei Tenth of Tevet Seventeenth of Tammuz Ninth of Av
The eruv wire is associated with the:
Location of the synagogue Shabbat perimeter Pilgrimage (aliyah laregel) to Jerusalem Mixing of men and women
Which sacraments to Protestants have?
Baptism and Betrothal Penance and Holy Communion Matrimony and Last Rites Baptism and Holy Communion
The following sites in the Church of the Sepulcher that are not part of the 14 Stations:
The Chapel of Saint Helena and the Stone of Anointing The Tomb of Jesus Nailing to the cross and removal from the cross The empty tomb, the Chapel of the Finding of the Cross
A feature specific to the Orthodox Church:
Iconostasis Narthex Transept Aedicula
In Muslim tradition El-Hader is a figure associated with:
The Patriarch Abraham Moses Jethro The Prophet Elijah
Eid al-Fitr is a festival commemorating:
The end of the Ramadan Fast The pilgrimage to Mecca The sacrifice The commandment of 'Shahada' (profession of faith)
What is the subject of the 'Prawer Plan'?
Regularisation of the issue of lands and Bedouin settlement in the Negev Conscription of yeshiva students to the IDF Solutions for regularising public housing Annexation of the lands in the E1 zone
Which of the following is associated with the tradition of Mount Precipice?
The Church of St Gabriel The Church of the Annunciation The Church of the Synagogue The Well
Which of the following mountains is the highest?
Carmel Tabor Adir Gilboa
The Elazar HaKappar inscription was found at:
Ramot Menashe Ramot Naftali The Golan Heights Ramat Rahel
Biriya was established by a group affiliated with the:
Shomer HaTsair Palmach's Religious Platoon Beitar Movement Scouts
The monument in memory of Ethiopian Jews who died trying to reach Israel is located on:
The Mount of Olives Har HaMenuhot The slopes descending from the Gilo quarter Mt. Herzl
The Nachum Gutman Museum is located in:
Bialik Street Rothschild Boulevard The Tel Aviv Museum for Art compound Neve Tsedek
Which of the following was produced from the Dead Sea in ancient times:
Magnesium Brome Copper Asphalt
During which period is the name Haifa first mentioned?
The biblical period The Second Temple Period The Middle Ages The Mishnah and Talmud period
The origin of the 'Kisui Sands' is probably?
The Moon Valley sands and local erosion The Nile Delta Mt. Shehoret The Shunra Sands

Unanswered questions count as incorrect.

— Samuel

Discussion

6 comments

Jerusalem girl says:

July 6, 2014 at 1:54 pm

Thanks this was fun! I already am a tour guide so I guess 80 % is not too bad. Some questions I had no clue about… Always good to learn more. Good for you that you passed! Good luck with the oral exam!

Reply
1. Samuel says:
  
  July 10, 2014 at 10:16 pm
  
  80% seems pretty solid to me! Thanks for the good wishes 🙂
  
  Reply
Ron says:

December 21, 2015 at 11:37 pm

Thanks.Would you say speaking different languages is an advantage as a tour guide or tourism companies have their own tour guides for partuclar language?
As I understand you can’t take a license exam in Spanish or Russian for example,but speaking these kanguages is an advantage to be more competitive,isn’t it?

Reply
1. Samuel says:
  
  February 8, 2016 at 2:47 pm
  
  Hi Ron
  Sorry for the delayed response, I was out with a group and your message somehow got lost.
  Definitely speaking different languages is a huge advantage, particularly Chinese which is in big demand at the moment.
  
  Reply
Sarah says:

April 9, 2017 at 8:56 pm

Thanks for this — I got 60% and I’ve never taken the course. That encourages me to apply for the course.

Reply
1. Samuel says:
  
  April 9, 2017 at 10:25 pm
  
  Glad to hear it Sarah! Good luck with the studies.
  
  Reply

Test your knowledge

6 comments

More from the Blog

The Israel tour guide exam, Part One: the written exam Part B (summer 2014)

I passed!!

In the Classroom