More foot pictures

Monday afternoon saw us continuing our mammoth foot tour of the Old City of Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Archaeological Park is dedicated to revealing the discoveries made of Jerusalem during the Second Temple period. Here we heard from a virtual pilgrim about the experience of coming up to the Temple. The sense of excitement at the significance and sheer vastness of this holy place was easy to catch. We sat on the steps leading up the South gate of the Temple. These have been excavated and are as they would have been during the 1st century BCE, they are the same steps that Jesus would have climbed up on his visits to the Temple. We saw the porticos where the money changing may have taken place, the corner stone where the Shofa (the ram’s horn) would have been blown to signify the start of the Sabbath and a pile of huge stones, which fell from the wall of the temple when it was sacked by the Romans in 70 CE. It was a privilege to walk around a place which is so significant for the Jewish people and which has been so beautifully excavated and displayed (Israel certainly know how to do museums). In this place, with the Dome of the Rock watching over, it is hard to avoid the fact that each of the three great faiths have a claim on this place. Watching over all of it though, is a God who is greater than any of our sites, our religions, even our memories.

Later in the afternoon we moved back again in time and onto mount Zion. Looking over the Kidron Valley we were show the place where possibly David looked out of his palace over the roofs which stepped down the valley side below him and spied Bathsheba.

Then for a spot of paddling, as we walked down the tunnels created by Hezekiah to bring water into the city. This amazing feat of engineering brings water 538 metres from Gihon pool into the city. The water is between need and shin height (not hip height as it suggests in the guide book!) Torches at the ready we waded and paddled along the tunnel for about 35 minutes. Although dark the base of the tunnel was smooth and it was gloriously cool. The flowing water and the skill in creating the tunnel seemed to be a real symbol of hope for the possibility of a renewed life force in this drought ridden land.

We came out of the tunnel at the site of the Pool of Siloam (cf. John 9) – this has been newly discovered (2005) and once again makes clear that although much is known about this city, it still holds many more secrets of its multi threaded past.