City of David!!!

On Monday we went on one of the best field trips EVER and it was right in our frontyard! The City of David! The City of David is King David's city that he established during his reign as king of Israel. It is southeast of the Old City of Jerusalem and about a 20 minute walk for us here in the center. So we embarked on our walk early in the morning and went to the small visitors center for The City of David. We watched a cool 3D movie about what had happened there and then walked around some of the excavations that had been done. I felt like I was at Disney World watching the pre-ride movie that would prepare me for a cool simulation of archeological digs....except for it was real! After seeing ruins of what was probably David's palace and part of the broad wall, we went to the highlight of the trip.....Hezekiah's Tunnel!

Looking down on what would have been the rooftops of the City of David. You can see some archaelogical sites on the bottom right.

King Hezekiah was a later king who was trying to prepare Jerusalem for an attack by the Assyrians. Jerusalem's major water source, the Gihon Spring, would be a perfect way for the Assyrians to attack the city. If anything tainted the water source, the whole city would be in jeopardy. To combat this strategy, Hezekiah decided to build a tunnel under the city that would house the water and run it within the city walls, away from anyone who would try to harm it. It worked and the tunnel is still here, even after 3,000 years (approximately)!! The best part is that we got to walk through the whole tunnel! The water still flows through the tunnel and it is pitch black inside. Good thing I packed my headlight for this exact occasion! Going through the tunnel was an adventure. The water level would change every once in a while and  would sometimes go to my mid-thigh. The tunnel itself would also get taller and then shrink down to tiny spaces where you had to duck with just enough space to move your body through the small space. Something that showed the age of the tunnel was the holes in the walls where torches would go, probably during the construction of the tunnel. It was about a 30 minute walk and we all made it to the end!

On our way down to Hezekiah's Tunnel.

 At the end of the tunnel, we were brought out to some excavations close by. We found out that we were standing at the Pool of Siloam where Christ healed the man that was born blind. Jesus put mud on the man's eyes and told him to wash in this pool. The man was miraculously healed. The excavations showed part of  the pool as it would have been in Christ's time! Unfortunately, the rest of the pool was built on top of and the owners wouldnt allow more excavations. Still, you can see the stairs that lead into the pool and part of the pool itself. We stayed there and had a devotional where I was able to feel the spirit testify of the Savior and his power. It was a beautiful opportunity!

Standing in the Pool of Siloam.