After the ceremony and going to the main Western Wall plaza, we changed and started to explore Jerusalem.
We headed to the City of David, an active archeological site that includes many recent discoveries.
We first headed down into the area of the Burnt House and House of the Bulae - an area destoryed by the Babylonians when the First Temple was destroyed.
Then we headed towards Hezekiah's tunnel, a water system dug in 1750 feet long dug through solid rock in the 8th century BCE. An inscription found inside the tunnel describes it being but by two teams working form either end and then meeting up, which was quite a feat of engineering.
Flashlights in hand we stepped into water up to our knees and headed through the tunnel.
If you have claustrophobia or fear of dark cramped spaces, entry is not recommended. I had to crouch and duck walk through some sections.
On the upside the tunnel was nice and cool and the water was also nice and refreshing for our feet, and where else can you walk through a water tunnel built thousands of years ago?
The map gives a pretty good idea of the layout.
We emerged and passed by a new wall that had been recently found dating to the First Temple Period.
In short Jerusalem is absolutely covered in history, and more history and archeological discoveries are being found there everyday.
And the day wasn't even done yet.
2 comments:
Beautiful pics, and literally walking in history. What's NOT to like! Enjoy!
Aaron, I'm enjoying your Israel posts, as our weekly men's morning meeting has recently been studying from Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther.
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