City of David

Looking at the archeological site through a window
in the floor. Cool!

Demonstrating the topography of the area. Jonah's head
was the Temple Mount, his arms the 2 valleys...

The City of David is what Disney Land would be like if Walt had been Israeli and had used the Tanach (Jewish Bible) as his blueprint. A lot of people think the City of David is the Old City of Jerusalem, but actually, it's an area just south of the Old City walls on a hill between the Kidron Valley and the Tyropoeon Valley. This is the original site of Jerusalem. We had yet another fantastic tour guide take us on a 3 hour tour through the area. It started with a 3D movie that explained the history of the place -- how David became King and sought to unite the tribes of Israel into one united people. One part of his plan was to make the capital in an area that did not belong to any one of the tribes. He also needed a spot that was easily defensible and that had a water source. This hill was the perfect choice with deep valleys on either side and the spring of Gihon just below. He had the ark of the convenant brought to the mountain just to the north and the Temple was soon built there.

In Hezekiah's tunnel

After the movie, we toured through the excavations that have been done of the area.  The guide quoted often from the Bible and talked about how the text and the archeological evidence coincide to give confidence in the interpretations of the findings. There is one area that might or might not have been David's palace (there is a lot to suggest it, but no definite proof). There are houses where they found clay seals from individuals wh are mentioned by name in various books of the Prophets, etc (Ella commented that she never realized so much of the Bible was true). We then walked through the ancient water system that served to create a safe passage to the spring (which was outside the city walls) in times of danger (like when the Assyrians or the Babylonians were attacking). It's hard to believe walking through this tunnel was the *safer* route! They found an inscription inside the tunnel explaining how it was built from both ends with the diggers meeting in the middle. We walked down a steep, slippery set of stairs, and then had the choice to go through the wet tunnel (Hezekiah's tunnel) or the older Canaanite dry tunnel. At the last moment, I opted for dry since I had Sylvia in the carrier, while Abe and the kids went the wet route.

Since I wasn't in the water tunnel, I'll let Jonah tell you about it:
"It was a narrow tunnel made out of rock. The rock was really smooth and water was running through the whole thing. At the beginning and end it was really deep (up to my waist). The rest of the way it was ankle deep. My Dad and Ella had to duck through most of it, but there was a really tall part in the middle (about 20 feet high). The tunnel was a water way from a spring that was outside the walls, so that during a siege you could get water. In the beginning it was scary but then it got easier. I used the flash of my camera as a flashlight."

We ended the tour at the Siloam pool, a reservoir also mentioned several times in the Bible.  All in all, a very cool tour - possibly my favorite so far!

The day was completed with falafel in the Jewish Quarter and popsicles, a nice rest, playing in the fountain in the Bell Park, cheese toast for dinner, and a great evening walk on Ben Yehuda Street. Perfect!

At Siloam pool

Sylvia didn't want to be left out of the water fun!

What an exhausting day!

Evening on Ben Yehuda Street