City of David

Picture 1 - overlooking the Kidron Valley (the Jerusalem Center is right around the corner and up a bit)
Picture 2 - the water level in Hezekiah's Tunnel (can you see me cute little face?) he he
Picture 3 - going down to Hezekiah's Tunnel
Picture 4 - the millo that supported David's palace (one of our professors is telling us all about it)

Hey everyone! Sorry it has been so long since I last wrote – life at the JC has been busy busy! We’re in the middle of finals and I’m a little nervous. It should be okay though…at least that’s what I’m hoping!
So last Monday, the 21st, we went to the ancient City of David. This was the original Jerusalem during King David’s reign. It’s not actually within the walls of the current Old City, but it’s right outside and down the hill a bit. When we first got into the “city” (it’s now a national park), there was a golden harp and harp music playing. It definitely put us in a King David sort of mood!
We watched a 3-D movie that told us the history of the city, and then we went on a tour. The first thing we saw was the ruins of King David’s palace. They are underneath the main floor because Jerusalem is one layer on top of another layer, so Kind David’s palace was underground until it was excavated. The next thing we saw was the millo that held up King David’s palace. (A millo is basically a stone wall.) The millo is important because it made sure that the palace did not collapse.
We went to a few overlooks, then we went to HEZEKIAH’S TUNNEL.

2 Chronicles 32:30 says, “ This same Hezekiah also stopped the upper watercourse of Gihon, and brought it straight down to the west side of the City of David…”

In the ancient days, cities were built in areas that had good defensibility, water, and trade route accessibility. The City of David is built amidst three valleys: Kidron, Central, and Hinnom, (trade routes), on top of a hill (defensibility), and right next to the Gihon Spring (water). Originally there was a channel built to get the water from the Gihon spring to the lower part of the city, but it was outside of the city walls. Hezekiah built a tunnel in order to keep the water source safe in case of a siege.
The tunnel is approximately 1760 feet long, and we got to wade through it! The water could get pretty high in some areas, so we had to roll up our pants to stay dry. We wore headlamps because it was very dark, but it was SO MUCH FUN!
After the tunnel, we saw a few more ancient ruins, then headed back home.
All in all, it was a very good field trip! I LOVED going through Hezekiah’s Tunnel and I just might go through one more time before I leave! We’ll see if I can fit it into my schedule.

Love you all!
-Audryn-

FYI - I can't post pictures at the Jerusalem Center because the internet is funky, so I have to wait until I can go to Hebrew University. Some day I'll get there and include some pictures with these posts! (this statement can no be re-called because there are finally pictures!)