Of the thousands of photographs I took in Israel, this is a small sampling. Eventually, I'll upload more.
November, 2011Showing 1-20 of 392843 visitsAlbum by John E. KellerPhotos by John E. Keller
enlarge 35KB, 720x166 1 Elah Valley This valley could be where David and Goliath engaged in one of the shortest battles in history. If not here, then it was not far from here. The two hills on either side of this narrow part of Elah Valley makes it a likely candidate for this historic event.
enlarge 38KB, 720x214 2 South of Jerusalem About ten minutes outside of Jerusalem, heading southeast, one encounters a wonderfully desolate beauty.
enlarge 59KB, 720x214 3 Temple Mount from Mount of Olives Over the years, I've seen many photographs of Jerusalem, from this vantage point. When reading the Biblical accounts of the Temple, the Mount of Olives, and other places in and around Jerusalem, I now have an understanding of location. One of the more intriguing things to see was the Jewish cemetery located in the valley slope between the Mount of Olives and the Temple Mount, visible at the bottom of this panorama.
enlarge 59KB, 720x278 4 Wailing Wall Panorama
enlarge 57KB, 425x640 5 Along via Dolorosa-7621 These buildings were constructed in the centuries following the complete destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD. The buildings that line the narrow streets of old Jerusalem, the Jerusalem inside the old city walls, are often artifacts from the Middle Ages. The current streets are ten to fifteen feet above the streets of first century Jerusalem.
enlarge 79KB, 640x425 6 Bet She'an-6639 Located at the junction of the Jordan River Valley and Jezreel Valley this "tell", a mound created as civilization built on top of previous civilizations, dates to its beginning in about the sixth century B.C. The Roman ruins at the base of the tell is a very impressive archaeologic site.
enlarge 92KB, 425x640 7 Church of the Holy Sepulchre-7654
enlarge 77KB, 425x640 8 Dome of the Rock & Mount of Olives from Lutheran Church of the Redeemer bell tower-7703
enlarge 106KB, 640x425 9 Dome of the Rock & Mount of Olives from Lutheran Church of the Redeemer bell tower-7726
enlarge 98KB, 640x425 10 Dome of the Rock-7210
enlarge 71KB, 425x640 11 Ethiopian Church in Jerusalem-7630
enlarge 69KB, 425x640 12 Garden Tomb- Possibly the tomb that Jesus was laid in after the crucifixion. Of course, there is no way to know for sure, but there is evidence for this site.
enlarge 156KB, 640x425 13 Gethsemanie-7330 It is recorded that the Romans destroyed the olive trees on the Mount of Olives when they leveled Jerusalem in 70 A.D. If so they were most likely re-planted soon afterward. Olive trees like this one on the Mount of Olives appear to be approaching two-thousand years in age. Perhaps, they were planted in the decade following the destruction of Jerusalem. Or, grew back after being cut down by the Romans. There is obviously a bit of speculation involved here.
enlarge 122KB, 640x425 14 Golgotha-8016 The location of first century events surrounding the death and resurrection of Jesus are hard to pinpoint. However, this hillside is a good candidate for Golgotha. The caves that appear to be the eyes of the skull are visible in this photograph. The mouth is obscured by the bus parking lot that now uses the ground in front of the hillside.
enlarge 69KB, 640x425 15 Jerusalem Coca Cola-7892
enlarge 60KB, 640x425 16 Jerusalem Kodak-7515 Ten years ago who would have thought that Kodak would no longer be producing slide film. It was discontinued in 2009. I thought this an appropriate place to see a Kodak sign, as Jerusalem has so much history in its streets.
enlarge 111KB, 640x425 17 Jerusalem Street Vendor-7666
enlarge 131KB, 425x640 18 Jerusalem Street Vendor-7667
enlarge 65KB, 425x640 19 Jerusalem Street-7565 Arches like this one are actually part of much earlier arched passageways and structures that have been woven into the more recent architectural fabric of this ancient city.
