visit the holy land for free!

I've spent part of the day weeding in my back yard, cooking dinner, and hanging out with my kids. I spent the rest of my day exploring Jerusalem. No kidding.

Photo Copyright: Israel Antiquities Authority and
the Urban Simulation Team at UCLA

Did you know you can walk the streets of Jerusalem and pan around major archaeological sites right from the comfort of your own home?

At SBL in November I attended a session where various professors shared ways they are using technology to help their classrooms come alive. It was a fascinating session—with video games, classroom games, virtual tours, and maps on Google Earth. Today I tried some of the websites to see which ones will work best for my class on the Gospels at Multnomah. Bingo.

Here are a few of my favorites:

A virtual ascent from the pool of Siloam to the Temple in Jesus' day, with music. This is the route priests would have taken during the Feast of Tabernacles, carrying water from the lower pool to pour out upon the altar. See John 7 and 8.

Several short videos highlighting this same route through the City of David (the oldest part of Jerusalem) to the Temple.

Stunning, 360-degree interactive photos of dozens of key biblical sites. The professor who was showing us this resource (his favorite) at SBL was delighted to discover that the creator of this website was in the audience!

Brief 3-D animated videos of many holy sites in and around Jerusalem, high resolution photos, and interactive virtual tours of several of the most important, like the Temple Mount and the Western Wall. You can choose narrated or self-guided tours.

If you've been to Israel before, these sites allow you to relive your experiences. If not, you can get a taste of the world of the Bible. It will help the text come alive like never before. Try it and see!