David's Royal City

Today we went to the City of David, that is, the archaeological remains of King David’s Jerusalem of about 3000 years. This is located on a ridge below the current Western Wall going down into the Kidron Valley. There are not of remains there but the guide really brought it alive connecting what we were seeing with the biblical texts.

Site of King David's Palace

Looking across the walls of the ancient city which are much lower than the walled city today

Part of the reason for the location of the city was the Gihon Spring. Archaeologists have found an elaborate tunnel system under this ancient city site that enabled access to water without leaving the safety of the city walls.

Looking down the 42 feet shaft to the water below... Originally they thought the water was drawn up from here... but then they found another tunnel! 

Leona and Jim - now called Jum - at the Gihon Spring, the water source for Jerusalem through the centuries until recent times. 

After climbing through the tunnels we came to the Pool of Siloam, where Jesus healed the blind man in John 9.

We then went to the site of the Temple. Not much remains of the Temple, the most famous being the Western Wall. However there are other remnants…

The large bricks/stones at the bottom of the Temple Mount are from the Temple which was destroyed in the year 70. Also, enlarge the photos... in the shaded wall, just below the three little windows and larger window, you will see an outcrop of bricks. This is where there was a huge archway bridge to enter the temple. 

Another entrance, the steps are original. This is where the teachers of the law used to argue theology and probably where Mary and Joseph found Jesus when he was a teenager.   

Look at the size of these stone bricks. From the gateway at the right all the way along... one piece. It would take a slave or two to move these!

So on this artistic respresentation the archway is at the righ hand side at the front while the steps are on the right hand side. This helps give a sense of the size of the Temple Mount. The Temple itself is in the middle of the courtyard with the smoke of sacrifice rising.

We then went to the Western Wall or the Wailing Wall, which is a wall of the foundation stones of the Temple. This is all that remains of the Jewish Temple which was destroyed by the Romans about the year 70. Above the Wall is Temple Mount where the Dome of the Rock is located.

We then spent the rest of the day wandering the Jewish Quarter of the Old City before returning home.