The Lord's compassion for his city and his people is a common theme of Scripture. These words of the psalmist reveal his great hope: "'The LORD looked down from his sanctuary on high, from heaven he viewed the earth, to hear the groans of the prisoners and release those condemned to death.' So the name of the LORD will be declared in Zion and his praise in Jerusalem when the peoples and the kingdoms assemble to worship the LORD" (Psalm 102:19-22).

The best view of the Temple Mount and Western Wall plaza from the west is now from the rooftop of the Aish HaTorah building in the Jewish Quarter. Along with the Muslim structures on the Temple Mount, one can see the excavations below Robinson's Arch, the "temporary" ramp to the Mugrabi gate, and the crowds that come to visit and pray at the traditional prayer area. The Mount of Olives is visible in the distance.

When you're on the ground, the area of the Garden of Gethsemane seems filled with churches and walls. The perspective from above reveals how the slope of the Mount of Olives continues to be a productive area for olive groves. At the bottom center of the photo, the Church of All Nations preserves the Catholic tradition for the place of Jesus' prayer and betrayal. At the bottom left, a passageway leads to an ancient cave used for olive-pressing where some believe Jesus' disciples slept. Up the slope and to the right the church with the golden domes identifies the Greek Orthodox tradition for Gethsemane. Near the top right, the chapel of Dominus Flevit remembers the place where the Lord wept upon seeing Jerusalem (Luke 19:41). This photo by Barry Beitzel is one of 150 of his aerial images included in the revised and expanded edition of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands.

Destroyed in the War of Independence in 1948, the Hurva Synagogue lay in ruins until a few years ago with only a lone arch to memorialize one of the great buildings of the Jewish Quarter. Recently reconstructed, visitors can now join a tour to climb to the top and view the city from its exterior balcony.

At all times day and night, men and women can be found faithfully praying at the wall of Herod's Temple Mount. This photograph shows women at morning prayers as viewed from the ramp which leads to the visitors' entrance of the Temple Mount.

From the Ramparts Walk above Jaffa Gate one has a view of the western wall of the Old City. The sidewalk today passes between the wall on the right built by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1540 and an earlier medieval wall excavated below on the left. The route continues west toward Jaffa (biblical Joppa), thus explaining the historic name for the city gate.