Herod's temple from the time of Jesus Christ

 This is an artist rendition of what Jerusalem looked like in the second temple period.  In the foreground you can see Herod's palace and fortress with the tall tower.  This is where the David citadel is today, although it has been torn down and rebuilt at least 2 maybe three times.  This particular tower stood for well over 500 years.  It was the home of the Roman 10th legion after the fall of Jerusalem in 67a.d.  Just past Herod's palace are the palaces of the Pharisee, Sadducees and Sanhedrin.  The wall that appears to divide the city was their "private" entrance into the Temple complex.  On the temple mount we see the back of the temple.  It faced east.

 This beautiful 3D model shows what the temple looked like.  The archway going into the temple complex is wide enough for four cars to drive on simultaneously!  The archway collapsed the street below when the Romans pulled out the keystones.
Underneath of these stairs was a complex of baths called Mikvah's.  They were for ritual cleansing before entering the temple complex itself.

 Here we see a side view looking on the south side of the temple complex.  Behind the temple we see the Judean Hills. The Mt. of Olives is hidden behind the buildings.  David's City is to the right out of sight.  We are looking east. This is the side that Mary and Joseph probably entered through the Hulda gates, when they presented the infant Christ in the temple. Bethlehem is about 5 miles south of Jerusalem.

 Once again a view looking north.  The temple block is about 1 square mile on the top.  It is huge! The main road of Jerusalem ran on this side of the temple in a north/south direction.  The small set of stairs goes over the tops of shops that ran the whole length of the street.

On this one you can see the temple off the the left of the picture