The Holyland Model Of Jerusalem

In Jerusalem there is a scale model of the city around the time of Jesus.

The Jerusalem of ancient times revolved around the Temple. The First Temple had been built by King Solomon. It had lasted for about four hundred years until the Babylonians destroyed it and took the Jews into exile. When Persia conquered Babylon the Jews that wanted to were allowed to return and rebuild the Temple. But this Second Temple was not as elaborate as the First. 

During Roman times, Israel was ruled by a king named Herod. He was allowed to rule as long as he stayed in favor with the Romans. Herod was actually an Idumean, the area formerly known as Edom, that had been forcibly converted to Judaism. Herod decided to dismantle the Second Temple in order to build a much grander one.

The first two Temples had been built atop a hill called Mount Moriah. This was the site of two important events. It had been where Abraham had been willing to sacrifice his son, Isaac, and where God had halted a plague that had been sent as punishment because David had sinned by conducting a census. Herod built a massive retaining wall around Mount Moriah, this is what remains today as the Temple Mount, then he built the new Temple on it.

ALL IMAGES ARE FROM GOOGLE STREET VIEW

This is looking at the Temple from the east. The blue dot is on the Royal Stoa. Non-Jews were permitted in the open area, known as the Court of the Gentiles, but only Jews in the Inner Precinct indicated by the green dot. The red dot is on one of the four towers of the Antonia, the Roman fortress in Jerusalem.

In another view of the Temple from the east, the yellow dot is on the East Gate to the Temple Mount, the cubic structure indicated by the green dot is the Holy of Holies, and the red dot is on one of the four towers of the Antonia.

These two images, both from the east, are of the Holy of Holies, in the Inner Precinct. Only the High Priest was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies and only on one day out of the year, Yom Kippur. The site is now occupied by the Dome of the Rock.

This is a closer look at the Royal Stoa. The red dot is where the Al-Aqsa Mosque is now located.

The is a closer look at the Antonia Fortress. It is generally believed that this is where Jesus' trial took place. The Temple Mount is to the left (south).

The Temple Mount is often pictured from the south. In the following two images the green dot indicates the south wall of the Temple Mount. The red dot indicates what was "downtown" Jerusalem at the time, and is now an archeological site known as the "City of David". The yellow dot indicates a residential neighborhood and the purple dot is the "Upper City", a wealthier neighborhood. At right, to the east, is the Kidron Valley.

In both of the following images, of the southern side of the Temple Mount, the two Huldah Gates are indicated by the red dots and the yellow dot shows where the Al-Aqsa Mosque is now located.

In the following image the two green dots show the doorways, at the top of the Temple Mount, where the stairs from the Huldah Gates emerged. In the southeastern part of the Temple Mount there is a "basement", supported by pillars, that used to be known as "Solomon's Stables", and is now the Al-Marwani Mosque.

The following image is of Herod's Palace. The three towers were named for people in Herod's life. The red dot is on Phasael. The yellow dot is on Hippicus and the blue dot is on Mariamne. The green dot in the background is on the Holy of Holies and the purple dot is on one of the towers of the Antonia.

In this image the red dot indicates Herod's Palace compound. The yellow dot, in the background, is on the southwestern corner of the Temple Mount.

In this image Herod's Palace is in the foreground and the western side of the Temple Mount is indicated by the red dot in the background. Today this is the Jewish site of worship, the Western Wall.

Ordinary people in Jerusalem lived in simple homes like these.

Just south of the Temple Mount the houses of ordinary people are in the foreground and the "Upper City" of wealthier people are in the background.

The Jews did have some privilege under Roman rule. The Romans generally respected their religion and, unlike other Roman territories, they were exempt from military service. With one power ruling the region, at least there was peace. Even so, the Jews hated being ruled by pagans and it ultimately exploded in rebellion. The Romans retaliated by ejecting the Jews from the land and destroying the Temple. The wealth looted from the Temple was used to build the Colosseum in Rome. Only the Temple Mount remained. 

Moslems later considered the Temple Mount as the third holiest place in Islam and built the two mosques, the Al Aqsa and Dome of the Rock there. The nation of Israel was reestablished in 1948 and the original city of Jerusalem came back under their control in 1967, but a Jordanian organization administers the Temple Mount.