City of David and Hezekiah's Tunnel

Our last Old Testament field trip with my last group of students was Monday, June 18, to the City of David.  This was the area of oldest settlement in Jerusalem, which is sometimes hard to picture since the original city extended on a low hill south of the Temple Mount, which is itself lower than the Upper City on the hill to the west or the Mount of Olives across the Qidron Valley to the east.  Perhaps the best explanations of this---and the best maps and charts---are found in my first blog post about the site int the fall post "City of David Pre-tour."  Other posts include the student trips fall semester and winter semester.  Below I am simply posting pictures of our trip, with the descriptions appearing mostly as simple picture captions.

Class group pic on the overlook point at the City of David with the Al Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount behind us.

Same overlook site but this time with the Qidrom and Hinnom Valleys to the south below us.

Looking down on the City of David --- as David could have looked down on Bathsheba's roof

Qidron Valley between the City of David and Silwan

The Arab neighborhood Silwan across the valley

Students around a site identified by some as the tombs of the Davidic kings.

Remains of walls and buildings on the east side of the City of David

 

Artist's rendition of the towers around the Gihon Spring before Hezekiah's Tunnel brought it within the walls

The water level in the tunnel was deep for Ashley Brocious, not so much for Jay Rainsdon and John Shackelford, my tall boys.

Exiting the tunnel into the Byzantine-era of Pool of Siloam

Artist's rendition of what the Pool of Siloam would have looked like at the time of Jesus.

In the remains of the actual Second Temple period Pool of Siloam (see painting above)

Painting showing the stepped street up the Tyropoean Valley from the Pool of Siloam up towards the Temple Mount

Remains of the Stepped Street, now underground.  Jesus and his disciples would have walked on these very stones!