Any good series of stories based on the Bible covers events related to Sodom and Gomorrah, as described in Genesis. The inflamed passions,the dark of night, the narrow escape, the destruction, . . .  It makes for good drama. But what about the cities themselves?  Were they real?

At one time, historians were excited because they thought the cities were mentioned in the Ebla tablets, uncovered in Syria and dated to 2500 B.C. But more recent understanding of the language used has dispelled that idea. So what do we know?

These two famous cities were located at the south end of the Dead Sea. This area is part of the Jordan Rift Valley, a huge crack in the earth going down into Africa. Earthquakes are common here. This is an area rich in bitumen (asphalt) and petroleum deposits as well as sulfur and natural gas. Some people who have investigated this area say natural gas could be exposed by an earthquake and lit by fires in the city, creating a conflagration such as Genesis explained.