Jerusalem in Google's Eyes

If you can't be in Jerusalem this year on Yom Yerushalayim/Jerusalem Day, which is May 20th, at least you can be virtually there.

The amazing Street View function on Google Maps has given us a whole new universe of potential time-wasting. It's possible to drag a little orange figure virtually anywhere on a map of the U.S., and cruise around the streets in 3-D, seeing houses, parks, stores, even spotting your car or your neighbors walking around.

Awesomely, Google has extended its functionality to other places--at first to parts of Europe, and, now, to Jerusalem. Navigating along Street View, you can visit the Ben-Yehuda Street mall, pass by the open market on Agripas Street, and cruise up Yafo Street to the entrance to the Old City.

Unfortunately Street View can’t enter every part of Jerusalem's Old City, where streets are are too narrow for Google's camera cars. There's a consolation prize, however: Google uses publicly-uploaded photos to create composite scenes such as the Western Wall and the Dome of the Rock, allowing you to see breathtaking panoramas with no need to renew your passport or even get up from your computer. Take your own virtual tour through the streets of Jerusalem.