David’s City: From Terrace to Tunnels

Photos:
King David Hotel: overlooking terrace/pool
Tower of David: exhibit statues; two views of inside terrace with Chihily glass
City of David: construction pit across from entrance; Silwan neighborhood; tunnel photos--following our guide, Lew and Norman, Pat emerging; neighborhood boys collecting wood for upcoming Lag B'Omer holiday bonfires; view of dome and walls of Old City near Temple Mount at night


An Israeli newspaper columnist, decrying Israeli schoolchildren’s ignorance of Jerusalem, recently claimed that most people have a limited perception of the city as a place of “ancient stones and serious business.” While I know there’s more to it than that, I think this phrase captures the city’s overriding ambience. Although Lew frequently visits Jerusalem to discuss “serious business”, we also spent a recent afternoon there with Pat and Norman examining some “ancient stones” and checking out three “David” venues: the King David Hotel, The Tower of David and the City of David excavations. On a blazingly hot April day, we enjoyed our lunch under the shade of an umbrella on the terrace of the venerable King David hotel. From there we walked to the Tower of David Museum in the Old City, always worthwhile for the fantastic views and the exhibits and detailed models chronicling the city’s 3000 years of history. The entertaining film (shown in a blissfully cool auditorium) tells the story of the successive civilizations that built (and destroyed) the city. Since our last visit, I noticed the addition on the premises of two glass sculptures which I’m sure were created by Chihuly---a squiggly, yellow ball hanging on a pendant from the ceiling of the entryway and groups of green spires which resemble reeds or grass on an inside terrace (see photo above).

With heat of the day still upon us, we threaded our way through the narrow, and thankfully shaded, alleys of the Jewish Quarter to the City of David excavation site. This area is located on a steep slope outside the southern walls of the Old City descending from the Temple Mount to the Kidron Valley and adjacent to the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem. In this contested area new construction and Jewish housing is creating a stir while the extensive and ongoing archeological excavations attract throngs of visitors (HaAretz April 13). The site has produced many fascinating finds, including artifacts from the homes of palace officials, a tunnel system that enabled inhabitants to access water from a source in the valley below while remaining safe from attack, remnants of the paving stones around a large pool and shops lining the steps leading up to the second Temple. The excavation and tours are financed and managed by a foundation that has an interest in promoting Jewish control of the area and also conducts inspirational tours of the site for IDF soldiers. We encountered such a group during our visit. They were sitting in a tunnel on the excavated steps leading to the Temple mount listening to a flute player and blocking our access to this area.

We began the tour with a 3-D movie (the effects were lost on me due to my monocular vision). Comparing this movie to the one we saw earlier at the Tower Museum, I have to say that I found this version of history disturbingly biased, laden as it was with biblical references to justify sole Jewish claims to the sacred places. The rest of our tour, though, was fascinating. Our almost private tour (the four of us and a twenty-something longhaired youth) was led by an English-speaking guide from an FSU background--a casually dressed young man sporting a kippah and tzitzit who lives nearby with his wife and three small children, including a newborn. His extensive knowledge of archaeology and history made the site come alive, particularly when he shared the wild story of a Swedish treasure hunter who, during the time of Turkish rule, teamed up with an archeologist and sold shares to investors, assuring them that his illegal dig would produce a huge haul from the discovery of King Solomon’s riches. On the run from Turkish authorities, who were tipped off by a guard who hadn’t been bribed, he escaped by train and boat to London where he was nearly lynched by his investors when the newspapers printed a rumor that he had hidden the booty (there was none!). We listened to the story as we stood looking at the bucket he left behind, now embedded in a niche in the wall of the underground tunnel leading to the wellspring and the massive boulders of the tower built to protect this vital water source.

Along with several large, noisy groups of religious tourists--young boys and girls, families and women with small children—we prepared for the most unusual experience of the day. Donning our water shoes, wearing shorts or hiking up our skirts and with flashlights in hand, we plunged into the icy cold waters of Hezekiah’s Tunnel for the third of a mile trek to the outlet at the other end. As I trudged behind the guide through the refreshingly cool solid rock tunnel and the chilly waters, which at first came above my knees but was mostly remained at ankle or mid-calf level, I was glad for the relief from the hot day. With little room to spare on either side of the solid rock walls, and at times stooping to avoid stretches of low ceiling, anyone who is claustrophobic would be unhappy here! In fact, I wondered what happens if someone panics since there is no access other than the openings at either end and travel is single file, hemmed in by others in front and behind. But, I am happy to report, no one seemed the least bit daunted, including Lew who has a well-known aversion to small, enclosed places (see photo above for evidence of his successful completion of the tunnel trek!). After a few twists and turns where the builders had miscalculated, we reached the midway point. Here the chisel marks on the walls changed direction, indicating where the carvers from opposite starting points finally reached each other and broke through to complete the tunnel to bring water from outside the city walls in anticipation of a siege by the Assyrians around 700 b.c.e. A replica of a plaque in ancient Hebrew script (the original is in a museum in Istanbul) describing this momentous achievement marked our emergence at the other end.