David Reigned over Israel Forty Years

"The days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: seven years he reigned in Hebron and thirty-three years he reigned in Jerusalem." I Kings 2, 11

Today we visited King David's City - this is the original city of Jerusalem. It stands outside what is now called the Old City - even though it is older! Just to confuse things, the walls of the city today date back to the Ottoman rule in Jerusalem and don't entirely correspond to the walls that existed in Jesus' time. 

King David's City covered the ridge the photo is taken on and extended down to the bottom of the gully. The Stepped Stone Structure is under me here.

From the viewpoint King David's City extends only to the palm tree - in the background is the dome of the mosque on the plaza where the Temple stood.

The Stepped Stone Structure which is thought to be the remains of the palace of David. From here he might have watched Bathsheba bathing... 2 Samuel 11

Some of us went into Hezekiah's tunnel - a tunnel dug under King David's City to provide a safe source of water for the city even when it was under siege. The tunnel traverses the ridge on which the city was built for a distance of 530 metres. The tunnel still carries water and is quite narrow and low. It is also very dark...  It empties into the Pool of Siloam - where Jesus sent the blind man he had cured to bath before going to present himself to the priests. This may have been a ritual pool where pilgrims bathed before "going up to Jerusalem."

A cistern leading to Hezekiah's tunnel - constructed in the 18th Century BCE

Emerging from Hezekiah's Tunnel - by the pool of Siloam - Some other participants in the Programme

We also visited the Western Wall - one of Jewry's most holy sites - possibly due to it's proximity to where the Temple once stood. It is part of the support wall for the Temple site.

The Western Wall - the Wailing Wall

The hat is obligatory!

The Western Wall in relation to the Dome of the Rock