A Tale of Two Tunnels

April 1 marked our first full day in Israel with JUC (Jerusalem University College). The day was dedicated to the study of Old Testament Jerusalem - David, Solomon, Hezekiah - we were discussing all of them and then we visited the sites. We saw the Broad Wall and where the city of Jerusalem's street level used to be. Like most old cities, Jerusalem has built itself up on the remains, foundations, and trash of the Jerusalem that preceded it. The new street level is about 8 meters above where it was in Hezekiah's time and one of the valleys is nearly completely filled in. In a section of the Jewish Quarter, archaeologists excavated down through the layers to find the remains of Hezekiah's wall and a portion of one of the old towers. The digs are done, for now, and the site is open for viewing as you walk the street above.

From the Broad Wall, we walked the meandering streets past the Temple Mount, beyond the 16th century city wall (most of which is still standing) to David's City, the original capital city that now lies outside the walls of Jerusalem. Archaeologists have been busy here as well. A section of the wall that was part of the Jebusite city has been found along with the foundation of David's palace and a section of the original towers of the main gate. It's easy to see, sitting at the foot of the tower, how David could look down and see Bathsheba bathing on her roof. He wasn't a pervert. He was living in the highest site in the city. It makes you wonder what Bathsheba knew when she went on that roof.

The group divided to walk the two tunnels that connect the Gishon Spring to the city of Jerusalem. The majority of the group took the wet walk through Hezekiah's tunnel. The tunnel is dark, dank, tight, and a little spooky when the lights are out. Many people were so relieved to be on their way out of the tunnel that they missed the Siloam Inscription near the tunnel's outlet. In contrast, the rest of the group took the dry walk through the Canaanite tunnel that originally brought water into the city. It was too small to survive the Assyrian siege, so Hezekiah ordered the creation of the larger tunnel that is now the wet walk. The Israeli government has taken over both tunnels and have expanded the Canaanite tunnel to have lighting and reinforced ceilings. A similar level of care has not been taken in Hezekiah's tunnel. We would not recommend going with slippery shoes or without a flashlight!

The end of the tunnel journeys brought all of us to the recently discovered Pool of Siloam that was in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus. We walked the large, broad steps that led into the pool. The pool is not completely excavated, but it is easy to grasp the size of the site by what has been discovered so far.

A portion of the Ashland group wrapped up the night with a journey into the Old City for dinner. We were looking for Armenian pizza, got turned around on our way to the area of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and ended up at a wonderful little place in the market for one of the best hummus and lamb shwarma dinners! Unfortunately, it was too late and we were too tired from hill climbing and tunnel trekking to make any post in the blog last night. The schedule for today? New Testament Jerusalem. Stay tuned!