So far we're doing good.  With this newsletter, we've already equaled the total number of BiblePlaces Newsletters in 2007.  Our plan is to send one every other month, and for 2008, we're on schedule.  The problem isn't having great photos to share, it's the time to put it all together.  I'm now enrolled full-time in a PhD program and my slave drivers are jealous of other masters.

The featured photos this month come with a bonus.  Don't miss the last image with a link to an additional PowerPoint file.  This PowerPoint includes satellite views of Corinth, with very helpful markings of what you are looking at. 

I recently worked on a project that required me to create some maps and I thought I would share a few tips for those who might be interested in making their own.

First, I'm using Bible Mapper.  This program has lots of functions which makes it easy to add and remove cities, insert labels, etc.  The program used to cost $35, but it is now free.  It does require a free registration key from the author to unlock all of the features.  (Note, however, that no technical support is available.)

Second, let's say I want to make a map of Turkey.  I only want to include certain places, and this requires that I remove some of the ones already listed.  That's easy.  Adding sites that aren't already defined is naturally a bit more work, but this too is not hard with several free resources.

Let's say I want to put Catal Huyuk on the map.  This is an important Neolithic site, but it's not already in the map program (I had to pick a lesser-known site like this one, because all of the biblical sites are already listed; if you're just teaching about the biblical sites, you may never have to do this).  To get the location coordinates for it, I go to the Wikipedia article.  If I want to get a close-up look at the site with a satellite view (or to verify the coordinates), I can then copy the coordinates to Google Earth.  Alternately, I can click on the coordinates in Wikipedia which brings me to a list of maps that I can locate the site on, including Google Earth.  It also gives the coordinates in decimal form which I can copy over to Bible Mapper.

Here's the map I made of Turkey.  It took me about 30 minutes to create this one, but it would take less time for those who don't have as many specific needs as I do.  There is a learning curve in using the Bible Mapper program, but within a few hours I was making maps like this one.  Undoubtedly more savvy individuals could make the map much nicer with all of the options available.

One day I hope to add maps like these to BiblePlaces.com so that one can click a site on the map and immediately go to the relevant page of photos. There are lots of potential uses.

But I should add - and this is a great feature of Bible Mapper - you can use the maps you create for anything!  (From the license: "No copyright restrictions are placed on any maps created with Bible Mapper.")  I'm tired of map makers who won't let you do anything with their maps except show it to your cat (one time only).  Now I have found a solution.

I imagine that Bible readers today have mixed reactions about a visit to Corinth.  On the one hand, Paul doesn't exactly shower the Christians here with praise in his two New Testament letters to them (see Philippians for a contrast!). On the other hand, the site is very impressive.  Corinth is one of my favorite biblical sites for a few reasons: 1) It's big.  Really big.  Unlike some ancient sites which you can fully see in 10 minutes, you can spend a day at Corinth and not see it all.  2) There are significant remains, including several structures that you can connect to the Bible, or streets that you know Paul walked on.  3) This wasn't a minor place in New Testament history.  Paul lived here - do you know how long? - yes, 18 months on his second missionary journey.  That's longer than his entire first missionary journey and longer than he was anywhere else (as recorded) except Ephesus and jail.  Plus he wrote two letters to the believers here.  Corinth is definitely worth a visit, and plan to give it sufficient time.

A few resources that you might find helpful in learning (or teaching) about Corinth: For commentaries, consider Garland or Blomberg for 1 Corinthians and Garland or Hafemann for 2 Corinthians.  A great guide to the ruins of Corinth and much more is Fant and Reddish, A Guide to Biblical Sites in Greece and Turkey.  If a picture is worth a thousand words, think about picking up the Greece volume of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands ($25).  It includes about 80 photos of the Corinth area, plus another 500 of Philippi, Athens, Thessalonica, etc.