The 11th Commandment

It's early morning and I'm scrambling up the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem, a focal point for three of the world's major religions. I'm halfway through a weeklong tour of Israel, trying to capture this ancient and diverse land in pictures. While my mission is ambitious, so is my itinerary: a huge circuit that takes in the entire country, from the pulsing nightclubs of Tel Aviv and the raw wilderness of the Negev Desert, to the resort beaches of the Red Sea, and the hills and mountains of the Galilee. Now, with just a day in the immemorial city, I'm searching for that iconic shot that sums up 4,600 years of history.

I find it. The onion-shaped domes of the Russian Orthodox Church of St. Mary Magdalene are in the foreground, a Jewish cemetery below the Roman walls in the middle, and the gilded Dome of the Rock -- a Muslim shrine -- in the background. Christianity superimposed on Judaism and Islam at f/8, 1/500 sec. I couldn't imagine more historical layers if I tried.

But there's something missing. As compelling as the image is, and though it encapsulates the history of Jerusalem, it's missing any action or element that might represent its city life today. I take the shot, though I continue to mull over a question that's been haunting me: How do I dust off the cobwebs of a lifeless photo and