Jerusalem: Model of the Second Temple

This scale model of Second Temple Jerusalem resides at the Israel Museum in modern Jerusalem. This particular photograph is looking west and shows a reconstruction of the Second Temple itself (after King Herod's renovations). The Holy of Holies would have been at the far west of the main Temple building, behind the large doorway. The open-air altar stood in the inner court, between the large gate (known as the Gate of Nikanor) and the steps that are visible at the lower center of the photo. The walls in the immediate foreground (at the bottom of the photo) would have separated the Court of the Gentiles (where anybody was allowed) from the Court of the Women (where only Jews were allowed).