The Laughlins

Yesterday (Thursday), we went to the City of David just outside of the Old City. For those of you familiar with Old Testament stories, when the City of David is mentioned, it is really referring to a 10-12 acre area of land, which lies just outside the modern day Dung Gate on the southern side of the Old City walls. This is where Jerusalem began (with King David), after he conquered the Jebusites (II Samuel 5). We paid the student rate to get into the City of David area, and then saw: Beit Hatsofeh Overlook (which looks out over the Arab village of Silwan and the Burial Caves in the wall), the "Tira" House, Warren's Shaft, Hezekiah's Tunnel, and The Shiloach Pool (Pool of Siloam). The best part was definitely Hezekiah's Tunnel. This is a 533 meter underground tunnel through sheer rock. Hezekiah created this tunnel in preparation for Sennacherib's siege of Jerusalem in 701 BC (II Chronicles 32:30). This tunnel allowed water to flow into Jerusalem from the Shiloach Pool (Pool of Siloam). Anyways, it is really fun to trudge through with headlamps and sandals. The water is very clear and the bottom is solid rock. It takes about 40 minutes to get through, and at its deepest point, it is only mid-thighish. Anyways, here are some cool pictures of it. Also, for everything we are telling you about in Israel, you should click on my Bible Places link on the right to get a lot more historical information and other photos.