One of My Favorite Things to Do in Jerusalem

A few days ago the job fell upon me to take our guests from Dallas, Rickey and Sam, to the City of David and through Hezekiah's tunnel. Now anyone who knows me knows that it is no "job" for me to take someone through the tunnel. It's one of my favorite things ever. The City of David is such a special place. Just being on that hillside where King David lived and set up the the tent for the Ark of the Covenant is enough in itself, but traveling through the tunnel that King Hezekiah's men dug out around 700 B.C. (approximately 2700 years ago) is an amazing journey! It is 530 meters long which is around one-third of a mile. It is pitch dark through the entire thing. You need a flashlight for the journey, especially if it's your first time through. And you definitely need your camera. At some places in the tunnel the water level is waist high, depending on the time of year. On this particular trip it was thigh high in one place and knee high most of the time. The water is clear, cold, spring water from the ancient Gihon Spring. (Many events took place here. King Solomon was anointed king at the Gihon. I Kings 1:33)



These are the foundations of two towers that were built by the Jebusites to defend the Gihon Spring from invasion. The Jebusites were an ancient Canaanite tribe along with the Hittites, Amorites, and Moabites. We're talking before King David. When I took this picture, I was thinking about how David probably stood right where I was standing when they were conquering this mountain and establishing the capital of Jerusalem. This is amazing. I'm still processing my thoughts on this.

Here is Rickey, Sam and Preston in the tunnel.


I was in the lead of our little group, and at one point I didn't hear anything behind me. I called out their names and there was total silence. I turned and started backtracking trying to figure out where they had stopped. They must have gotten sidetracked by something they found in the tunnel wall. Remember it was pitch dark and I didn't have a flashlight. I didn't know which way the camera was pointing, so I took the picture in order to see what was behind me. Nope. Nobody was there. Then I retraced my steps a few more yards and took another picture.
There's Rickey! I almost killed them for not telling me when they decided to stop and look at something! We laughed through the entire tunnel.
The tunnel begins at the Gihon Spring and ends at the Pool of Siloam. (The Pool of Siloam will be another blog.) Hezekiah's men started the tunnel from both ends at the same time and actually met in the middle. It was a miracle, because we're talking 700 B.C.. They had no high-tech equipment to help them. Ok...I'll stop. I could go on and on about this place, but I'll stop....for now!