Was King Herod born here?

Last week, we talked about the history of Maresha and the EPIC battle that happened below it.

This week, we'll talk about the tel, its views, and something intriguing directly below it.

The tel hasn't been full excavated yet, so I definitely need to go back in the future! Also, to see the Sandahanna (St. Anne's) ruins. We could see it from far away, but there wasn't time to go close to it. Still, the view of it surrounded by spring's beautiful was enough for a first visit!

The 360-degree views from the top are incredible!

Below the tel, on the way to the cave with the olive press, are these interesting ruins. The villa here has been partially reconstructed, and it's too dangerous to walk on right now. It's from the Hellenistic era, and a hoard of 25 coins were found under the floor of one of the rooms. The latest coin was 113 BC, and it's assumed the house was destroyed that year (or else there would have been newer coins).

Excavation revealed cisterns directly underneath the village, which stored rain water.

The reason this is interesting, is because when Maresha was conquered by John Hyrcannus I, he left a small group there. At the time, this area had Idumean immigrants. Idumean comes from the word "Edomean", or from Edom. These were descendants of Esau, BibleWalks says this fulfills the prophecy of Obadiah 1:19: "and they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau".

Josephus says that the Hasomeans force-converted the Idumeans to Judaism, allowing them to remain there.

Who do we know, from about 50 years later, was an Idumean?

King Herod.

Was he born here at the base of tel Maresha? Could this area have been his hometown? The presence of this villa (and others not excavated by it prove a settlement here, and the findings of the coins prove the time period. History tells us the Idumeans were here. What about Herod 'the Great'?

We don't know, but it is intriguing to think about!

What is the Tower of David?

I’ve wanted to visit the Tower of David ever since I confused it with the City of David, haha.

It did not disappoint!

It was a Friday afternoon in July, and I was allowed in for free, and basically told to run through it because they were setting up for an event and would close soon. SO, I didn't see everything. And, I couldn't, because I hear one of the most spectacular things about this place is its night shows. Definitely have to go back!

Anywho, the Tower of David is actually a citadel in Jerusalem that is so famous it has been used as a symbol for Jerusalem for centuries. The current ruins date back to Mamluk and Ottoman times, about 500 years ago, which is why there is a minaret there.

But, it stands on a foundation of fortifications from Hasmonean (400-100 BC), Herodian, Byzantine, and Early Muslim periods. It's been destroyed and rebuilt a lot! There are archaeological remains in the quarry that date as far back as 2,500 years! So when you're walking through it, you see architecture and remains from many different periods all around, on top of, and beside each other. So cool!

It's called the Tower of David because tradition holds that in that same location, 3,000 years ago, was a massive tower built by David. The Byzantine Christians started calling it that in the 5th century AD.

Today, it's a popular place for shows, concerts, and big events. Messianic artist Joshua Aaron even recorded a live album here a few years ago. How cool is that?

My favorite parts, however, were the 360 view on top of the Phasael Tower and walking around in the moat.

Ready for the tour?

There are remains in this section from both Hasmonean and Herodian periods:

Hasmonean Era ballista stones (around 200 BC):

There's a cistern here dating back to the Byzantine period:

Statue of David:

Medieval Statues:

There are also 3-D maps of Jerusalem during different periods, and also some of the citadel, but I don't have any good pictures of them.

As you can see, the minaret was under construction while I was there:

I wish I had a better description for everything inside; there aren't that many signs and the brochure I was given doesn't have much information. I wasn't able to listen to the audio tour because they were closing in less than an hour. But you can walk all through here on protected paths, as well as go up the walls and walk around the top (and up the towers. It's amazing!

But the view is what made me want to linger. It was gorgeous!

This is looking outward from the Old City:

The King David Hotel! You can't see it in the picture, but I could see both American and Israeli flags flying on top. That's because the American President was visiting that week.

Looking inward:

A very hot, sweaty me:

But that's not all, because you can walk around outside the citadel as well, around the moat and through Herodian Pools (dry in summer) and see the construction from the outside. It's incredible! And, a lot more shade available, making it a great place to sit and eat an apple.

That's it for this tour. Until next time... when I have more time and can listen to all the audios, or go to a night show. The Tower of David was actually closed for a good part of this year for renovations, so it will be cool to see what is 'new'.

What a cool place!

Where did Jesus stand trial before Pilate?

From Caiaphus' house, Jesus was taken to stand before Pilate at his residence at the Antonia Fortress.

Built by Herod and named for Mark Antony, some of the Roman troops lived here, and the priestly vestments were likely stored here. The fortress was one of the final strongholds of Jerusalem to fall in AD 70. 

Tradition holds that Pilate lived here, so this is where Jesus was taken to stand trial (again), where He was beaten and whipped and fitted with a cross to begin His walk to Golgatha. 

Today, where the Antonia Fortress is now a bunch of buildings. But there are hints at what used to be there. Check out these half-arches:

This is a clue that something much older was here before.

Nearby is the Church of the Flagellation, which commemorates Him being beaten. One of the chapels has a crown of thorns adorning the basilica, and in the other, there is an ancient Roman gameboard carved into the stone:

Then, a few doors down, a convent with ruins below it. (This place could be a blog post in and of itself, there was so much here. The ruins were converted many times and used in different ways, like a giant room being a cistern): 

But what is the most important for Jesus' final night is here:

another Roman game board, and 

The remains of an ancient Roman road, stones worn smooth from age. It's likely Jesus could have walked on this road, or that this is even the stone pavement mentioned in John 19:13.

Wow... this spot takes a few moment to take it in.

And finally, a few doors down is Church of the Condemnation, with a prison in its dungeon:

From here, you'd turn left to keep going down the Via Dolorosa and then right into an alley, all the way to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This is the last spot in this blog series until Sunday, the best day of all. It's hard to see; a lot to take in. But take heart, because Thursday is almost over.

Sunday is just a few days away.

Exploring Hezekiah's Tunnel: How in the world did they do that?

In 2022, I described my visit to the City of David and standing outside of Hezekiah's Tunnel. My first visit there was an unusually cold weekend in March—gray, raining, and hovering in the 30-40 degrees Fahrenheit. Even though the water in the tunnel stays the same temperature year-round, I didn't feel like getting my jeans wet up to above my knees and just walking around in the cold.

No, this was an adventure for summer.

So, in July, I went back, and this time walked through the Hezekiah's Tunnel.

The water felt amazing, even when it briefly flowed over my knees. At first, all I could hear was the roar of the water and people yelling/laughing... and I couldn't see anything. That stayed the same the whole time, haha. There is no light without a flashlight in there (the picture above is the view when you finally emerge from the tunnel).

This 535 meter tunnel is not straight; it winds through the rock just like the dry one.

Unfortunately, there was a middle school group of the UK behind me, and the boys, who were directly behind me were constantly yelling crude things in the dark. When we finally got to the end of the tunnel, there was a small gift shop by the Pool of Siloam that had t-shirts saying, "I survived Hezekiah's tunnel". When of the boys read it out look and I looked him dead in the eyes, "You almost didn't". 

But I digress. 

Wow, being in that tunnel in complete darkness was an experience that I'll never forget. It makes the miracle of how this tunnel was created that more incredible! 

King Hezekiah commissioned this tunnel in 2 Chronicles 32:30 (2 Kings 20:20 and Isaiah 22:9) so that Jerusalem could channel its water supply from the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam. This way when the Assyrians and anyone else came to lay seige, the inhabitants still had water. 

But in order to do this quickly, as the Assyrians were already advancing towards Jerusalem, the tunnel was dug from both ends and met in the middle with only a small distance between the levels. How in the world did they do that: 2 groups of men digging in rock towards each other while underground, with varying levels of terrain, and find each other within 30 centimeters (1 foot) of each other?

Amazing!

Finally, after exiting the tunnel and putting my tennis shoes back on, we passed the pool of Siloam and entered the Promenade and the Western Stepped (Pilgrim) Road.

The promenade itself has a mural depicting what life likely looked at at the time of Herod. From that, a dating back to 1st century AD leads north and up—straight up to the Southern Steps.

Below this road was a water drainage channel. Both are about 650 meters long (almost half a mile). In the channel, artifacts like coins from the 2nd Temple period, a gold bell ornament like what was on the High Priest's robe, a Roman sword, and a clay seal. According to the brochure the park gives you, this is channel was also likely a refuge for those who felt the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.

All those finds prove the every day use of this road, as it was when it was above the earth (and wider) in the time of Jesus. People walked back and forth. This is likely the road the blind man took when he descended from the Temple steps to the Pool of Siloam with mud on his eyes. 

Can you see it?

Besides the fact that it is SO COOL to walk where you know Jesus and His disciples did, there was one other perk from taking this tunnel back up to the entrance of the City of David: with it being underground, we were in the shade, in the cool of the earth, getting a break from the intense July sun. That's not to mention the earlier relief of walking through water, and dipping my hat in it before putting it back on.

I definitely recommend taking the time to visit the entirety of the City of David. I'd love to go back with a tour guide, as I'm sure there's much I didn't see. It's one of my favorite places in all of Jerusalem, just because of the treasure of history that it is.

OH, and did you hear the big news? 

The Pool of Siloam is going to be fully excavated! WOW! I can't wait to go back and see it for myself!