3D model of Temple Mount

http://www.sephirot.com/temple.html

New 360 Panoramas

Of the church of Beatitudes, Transfiguration, and Capernaum

http://www.360cities.net/profile/william-hamblin

News Article on Temple Mount as "powder keg"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/16/AR2009111603669.html

New book on the Temple Mount

Oleg Grabar and B. Kedar, 

Where Heaven and Earth Meet: Jerusalem's Sacred Esplanade 

Universtiy of Texas Press, 2010

ISBN-10: 0292722729

Reviewed at
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/world/middleeast/15mount.html?_r=1

New Jewish coins found near Temple Mount

Newly discovered coins from the first Jewish revolt (AD 66-70) are now on display at the Davidson Archaeological Park south of the Temple Mount.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2009-11-11-jewish-temple-coins-exhibition_N.htm

Some of the coins reflect temple ideology of the Jewish rebels.

Qumran cave 1

A 360 panorama of Qumran cave 1.

http://www.360cities.net/image/qumran-cave-1

Along with others as well

http://www.360cities.net/profile/william-hamblin

Dead Sea Scrolls Cave 1, part 2

This photo shows the cave in the center of the photo.

Here is a closeup of the cave.

Interior of the cave. The pottery is modern.

Dead Sea Scroll Cave 1, part 1

I visited the Dead Sea today, and hiked up to cave one. Here are a few photographs of the ridge of the Dead Sea escarpment leading up to the cave. The cave is near the center of the photos where a large pillar like rock is to the left of a square black crevase.

Here is a closeup with the large pillar-like rock. The cave is the second black spot on the left at ground level.

Gigapan of the Temple Mount and Mount of Olives

from the Tower of the Church of the Redeemer, near the Holy Sepulcher.

http://gigapan.org/gigapans/36123/

Gigapan of the Madaba Map of Jerusalem

Large hi-resolution version at

http://gigapan.org/gigapans/35868/

Umayyad Palace, Amman, Jordan

Interior of the Ummayd Palace (c. 700) on the citadel of Amman, Jordan, with some restoration to the walls, and a new dome showing the structure of wooden dome making.

Student photos at the Treasury

Gigapan of the Treasury at Petra, Jordan

A gigapan is a ultra-high resolution photograph taken by creating a collage of telephoto photographs.  Here's one I recently took of the "Treasury" at Petra.

http://gigapan.org/gigapans/35859/

Temple of Artemis at Jerash

For a 360 panorama from the interior of this temple, see:

http://www.360cities.net/image/aretemispan-2-panorama

Bethany Beyond the Jordan 1

John 1:28 says that John baptized in "Bethany beyond the Jordan." A Byzantine church was established at the traditional site in the fourth century, and remained active until crusader times, after which it fell into ruins and its location was forgotten. In 1996 excavations uncovered the ruins of this traditional Byzantine Church; the site is now accepted by most scholars as the traditional site of the baptism of Jesus.

A broad view of Bethany beyond the Jordan, with the Mount of Olives in the far distant horizon. The closest building is a Greek Orthodox Church built in 2002.

A bend in the Jordan river and the contemporary Greek Orthodox church.

The Greek Orthodox church of John the Baptist at Bethany beyond the Jordan.

360 Panoramas

I've posted a few new 360 panoramas

The Church of Gethsemane in Jerusalem
http://www.360cities.net/image/gethsemane-1-panorama

The Tomb of Mary in Jerusalem
http://www.360cities.net/image/tombmaryjerusalem

The Siq (canyon) of Petra
http://www.360cities.net/image/petrasiq1

The Treasury of Petra
http://www.360cities.net/image/petratreasury

Church of All Nations (Gethsemane) 5

The central dome over the Rock of Agony depicting the celestial temple with four altars and four gospels/evangelists/cherubim.

The ceiling of the church with the stellar motif symbolic of the night sky (wide angle lens).

Russian Church

The onion domes of the Russian Orthodox Church of Mary Magdelene at sunset.

The Church of All Nations (Gethsemane) 3

A candelabrum, representing the menorah of the Temple, and Christ as the light of the world.

The central dome, representing the celestial temple (from Revelation), with the veil withdrawn to reveal Christ as the Lamb of God on the celestial altar.

The olive trees of the Garden in the starlite night.

The dome displaying the candelabrum (menorah).

Church of All Nations (Gethsemane) 2

Exterior of the Church of All Nations at Sunset

The Tympanum mosaic showing Christ suffering in the Garden, flanked by peoples of the world.

The center of the Tympanum depicts the Father enthroned in heaven surrounded by the Cherubim, watching the Son suffer in the Garden.

Church of All Nations (Gethsemane) 1

(Click photos to zoom in to larger view)

Wide angle view of the rock, apse and dome of the Church. The apse mosaic shows Christ suffering the agony in the garden. The moasic over the rock shows the celestial temple supported in the corners by four cherubim.

The Church is coposed of twelve domes, respresenting the heavens.

In the Apse mosaic, the hand of God is outstreached towards the suffering Jesus, with the angel sent to support him.

A cherub supporting the dome of heaven (based on Ezekiel 1).

Jerusalem Rooftop Panorama

This photograph was taken with the Canon 15mm wide angle lens (creating some distortion) at sunset from the rooftops near the center of the Old City.  (Click on the photo to zoom in)  In this photo you see (starting on the left) the minaret of the Mosque of Omar, the two domes of the Holy Sepulcher, the tower and dome of the Church of the Redeemer, the Muslim quarter, and on the right, the Dome of the Rock.  The foreground is the covered market running north and south through the center of the city.

A 360 panorama from this same location can be viewed at:
http://gallery.me.com/hamblinwj#100871/IMG_0601%20Panorama&bgcolor=black
It is high resolution, so you can zoom in quite a bit on each of the elements on the horizon.

St. Anne's Church

This crusader era church, near Lion's Gate on the NE part of the Old City, celebrates the mother of the Virgin Mary. It is one of the best surviving examples of an unchanged crusader cathedral. These shots were taken with a 15mm fisheye lens.

Herodian Tunnels

A tour through newly excavated Herodian tunnels (1st Century AD) not yet opened to the public. The tunnel runs from the Silwan (Shiloam) Pool up towards the Temple Mount (Haram). Some scholars think it may extend all the way under the Temple Mount. It may have been used as a water channel, or may perhaps have been for priests who were defiled on the Temple Mount and had to leave by underground tunnels.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFL6wdUdzEU

Two new videos

Yom Kippur and a visit to the Mount of Temptations Monastery near Jericho.

http://www.youtube.com/user/HamblinOfJerusalem

What has Jerusalem to do with Camelot?

Probably nothing, but this is funny in its own way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luVjkTEIoJc

Wester Wall, Yom Kippur 2

Western Wall, Yom Kippur 2009

Prayers at the Western Wall at the end of Yom Kippur, 28 Sept 2009.