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!

Building on the Past—Literally! (Part 3 of 3)

The thing about Israel, is that there is SO MUCH HISTORY literally everywhere that it's many-layered and multi-faceted.

I just spent 2 weeks talking about sites specific to the 2nd Temple, which also are the very places that things happened in the time of the 1st Temple.

We know this because in Israel, you build on top of the past. It's very practical... the materials are already there. If the foundation is solid, why not? Now, it's also done in the name of historical preservation. 

This means, if you dug deeper, you'd find remains from the 1st Temple.

But we're actually going to move forward in history now:

I want to say again that I am a student of Israel and have soooooooo much to learn. I'm still learning all the different time periods and things. That's significant, because the rest of the structures in Jerusalem Archeological Park that I want to feature are from the Umayyad Caliphate (638 AD). A palace was actually constructed in the 8th century using the fallen rocks from the Temple Mount walls. Can you imagine? But it's practical- the materials are right there. Work smarter, not harder, and all that.

Then, a Byzantine building was constructed over where the palace had been. The building in the photo is a reconstruction based on their materials and techniques.

Which is why I'm going to end the series with this picture, because it shows this perfectly:

It was early afternoon when I took this, so I know the shadows are severe. But hopefully you can see it, either in the structure or in the sign. Basically, this building here is an example of 3 different time periods built on each other. Can you see the differences in the stone wall directly across from the sign, and how they differ from the one on the side?

I love this stuff! So cool!

What was your favorite part about this series on Jerusalem Archeological Park? Let me know in the comments below!

Is this where Jesus overturned the tables? (Part 2 of 3)

After leaving the ancient steps, I went to a place that took my breath away.

There, along the Wall, an ancient street. And rubble. Massive rock piled up on top of each other as if they’d been flipped and left with no stone on top of the other: remains from the destruction of the Second Temple in AD 70.

It was too much for me; I had to sit down.

Down that street, Yeshua and thousands of others- millions even- would have walked, passing vendors in the market stalls (that are partially still there!). This, right here, evidence of stone cold, recorded history.

Is this where Yeshua overturned the tables of the money changers?

These stones are bigger than I can describe. They reached above my head, and had to weigh literal tons. And, they are only a small portion of the original walls. When Roman soldiers destroyed everything in AD 70, they literally left no stone unturned (sounds like Matthew 24 here?). That's because fire would first of all weaken the limestone and make it like dust. It also would melt the gold filigree and any gold between the stones—and the Romans wanted to take it ALL.

According to Josephus, they spared the Western Wall so that the soldiers could rest there. Everything else was destroyed.

Streets where Yeshua walked.

Steps that millions climbed to go to worship.

Can you see it? All at the foot of the Mount of Olives, in the heart of Jerusalem.

But, we're not done with Jersualem Archeological Park yet! Come back next week for Part 3 of this series!

Jesus walked up these steps! (Part 1 of 3)

What if you could walk exactly where Jesus did? While in Jerusalem in March, I did just that.

Jerusalem Archeological Park sits directly above the City of David (ancient Jerusalem). I didn't have a tour guide while there, just a brochure and the signs posted around the park, but I was able to listen in as a tour guide explained in English to 2 men about this place. He especially pointed out the steps and the straight line they formed down to the City of David.

As you can see in the picture above, there's a (now blocked) triple gate, and a double gate (the arche above one is only partially visible. Travelers to the city would walk up through the city and up to the Hulda gates to worship.

You can see where the original stones still stand and where others were added on later to make the mosque. These are the original stones!

Take a look at these steps! As pilgrims ascended, reciting the prayer of ascents, the steps themselves provided almost a rhythm in how they were arranged, adding to the event.

Beside and below the steps are the remains of the ancient mikvot used for cleansing before Jews entered the Temple. There was so much there that I wanted to learn… my brochure made me wish I’d had a guide. But, I was lucky, because we'd learned about mikvot in my Hebrew class that very week! I walked around giggling, experiencing my new knowledge firsthand!

I walked all through this maze of mikvot (as the paths allowed). It was a beautiful, warm day, and tourists were just returning to Israel at this point, so I basically had it all to myself. How incredible to imagine David, Solomon, the disciples, Yeshua—EVERYONE!—walking up to the 2nd Temple to worship on this very route.

And, let's not forget the spectacular view of the Mount of Olives!

That's it for now, but not the end you'll see of this incredible place. This is only part 1 of 3 about my visit to this park. Stay tuned for part 2 next Monday!