The Walk: Rabbi’s Tunnel, Hezekiah’s Tunnel, and Markets

Woke up in Jerusalem! Not a spectacular view from the hotel room, and the ocean is gone, but what a thrill to be here in this ancient city!

Our first adventure was a trip through the Western Wall Tunnel, aka, The Rabbi’s Tunnel. This is a hard tour to book, and we were “lucky” to get the 7:00 a.m. slot. As you can see by the sign, though Israel owns the country, they cannot go onto the Temple Mount which is at the peak of Mount Moriah (“MORE-yah”). The temple no longer exists and the “Dome of the Rock” stands mosque-like in its place. I’m surprised there isn’t more fighting over that alone.

No guide was provided, so our tour guide gave us information on the temple eras. Here he showed us a model of what Mount Moriah would have looked like after the first temple (Solomon’s temple) was destroyed.

Remember Herod the Great, the big builder of Jesus’ time? Well, he decided to really impress the Jews and earn a few points with them by rebuilding the temple bigger and better than ever. Here is the huge platform he built as a base for the temple complex. Herod did things in a big way. He really wanted to be accepted by the Jews, his estranged cousins from days of old. But he also was pretty keen on staying in power, and his slaughter of the babies of Bethlehem two years before he died must have devastated his popularity ratings.

I think the temple in this model is a bit oversized. The temple was huge (twice as tall as the Dome of the Rock which you will see later), but the platform on which the temple was built was gigantic.

This is a little closer to today with the Dome of the Rock where the temple used to be and a whole new Arab quarter that sprung us to the west of Temple Mount. You can see the little bit of the platform that is at the closest corner. That is the Western Wall or “Wailing Wall” as we sometimes call it. I never heard “Wailing Wall” from any of the locals. You’ll see pictures of Jews praying at that little section of the Western Wall in a bit. Then the huge size of this whole platform will become a little clearer.

This was the beginning of our walking tour of the Rabbi’s Tunnel which runs along the Western Wall under the current top surface. Everything here has been built up layer upon layer. Even the Via Dolorosa is currently 60 feet higher than when Jesus walked it.

The passageways were all manmade with plenty of arch work; well-lit and well-ventilated.

In a room deep into the tunnel was a large pneumatically operated model of Temple Mount showing all the historical eras. The lights along the near side show about where we were walking – all underground. Notice Fortress Antonia, the Roman garrison to the left of the temple. The Romans were keeping a close watch on the Jewish doings. This is what saved Paul’s life when the Jews thought he was bringing gentiles into the temple courts. They mobbed him and would have killed him, but the Roman watchmen saw the ruckus and scurried down to save him.

Speaking of layers of history, this room was being excavated and we looked down into times as far back as when Abraham brought Isaac here as an intended offering to God. It is absolutely amazing to be in a place where thousands of years settle like dust and compact into solid stone.

Speaking of stones, here is a mind-boggling one! This is one of the foundation stones for Temple Mount. I’ve forgotten the length, maybe 40 feet (90 feet?) but I do remember that it weighed 450 tons! That’s nearing a million pounds. And the workers back then had to position it just right AFTER quarrying it and hauling it up the hill. Incredible. No wonder the temple was one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

This sign marks the underground spot that is the point closest to the former Holy of Holies that a Jew can visit today. You can enlarge this photo and read what they have written about the importance of this place.

And here is the spot itself. All the women with covered heads are Jewish. They seem to have taken over this spot. You’ll see later that the men laid claim to the lion’s share of the Western Wall out in the daylight, leaving the women a small section for their worship. But down here at the holiest spot for Jews, the women are the large majority.

This is my foot on the 2,000-year-old stones of this place. My Petra tan and resulting white ankles keep this from becoming poster material, but here in the private depths of the Rabbi’s Tunnel it will do. All the stone paving in Old Jerusalem are worn slick.

Back on the surface… the conservative Jews are sticklers for accuracy, don’t you think? This is outside the men’s restroom nearest the Western Wall.

Looking down into the plaza near the Western Wall, it was easy to spot Jewish families bringing their sons and daughters for their bar mitzvahs or bat mitzvahs. They were all dressed in their finest and many will have come from countries around the world for this once-in-a-lifetime event as their child comes of age and is accepted into the community of Israel.

Hmm… you’d think you could find a restroom at this gate, wouldn’t you, but “NOoo…”

We traipsed on down to the City of David which is on the same hill, just down the slope from Temple Mount. It is currently being excavated. There is active excavation visible from almost any vantage point. But they do not excavate within Temple Mount proper, only outside it. Planes with special sensors have flown over the holy hill and it is believed that the hill may be riddled with underground chambers and passageways, but no one can dig it up. Outside Temple Mount is another story, and new things are being discovered every year.

On the way to the City of David we passed a long mural depicting excavation and what to our wondering eyes should appear, but Aran, our guide, in his work as an archeologist. Veda, one of our tour mates is pretending to join a bucket brigade with Aran.

Here’s what’s shaking in the City of David. They have learned that it had one of the most advanced water systems in the world, a real engineering feat. Notice the stone toilet seat above and to the left of the woman’s hand.

Turning around you see modern construction across the Kidron Valley.

And here’s a photo of today’s City of David ruins compared to how the city probably appeared in its glory days.

Ooo… nearing Hezekiah’s Tunnel! Here’s a sign to warn people of how deep the water will get.

First we had to get down to the tunnel. We climbed right down through stone. Pity the tunnelers of Hezekiah’s day who had to chisel down through rock the whole way… and that, while they knew the Assyrians could be pouncing upon them any day now. But they had to guarantee their supply of fresh water for the city, so on they dug. And the tunnel was long!

Here is where we first stepped into the chilly water as it flowed around our ankles.

Soon it was more than our ankles! Ginger was finding the temperature rather exhilarating.

I was hitching my britches up rather nervously for a few steps, then it got back to calf and ankle deep. But the tunnel walls got awfully close together in places. Occasionally I had to turn my shoulders to ease through a narrow place.

At the low end of the tunnel we day-lighted and walked a short distance to the newly unearthed Pool of Siloam. People had thought it didn’t exist, but sure enough, they found it.

We made our way back up through a dry tunnel and learned a bit about the streets and sewers of Old Jerusalem. Here we’re in a very hazy section of the tunnel. For some reason our guide wanted to tell us much in this place even though you can see several were worried about the air quality. During the siege of Jerusalem in 70, there were some people who escaped through the sewers. In time the Romans caught on and many were trapped and exterminated in the sewers as they made their desperate bid for freedom. In the excavations they have found some places where escapees hid their money and jewelry so that the Romans couldn’t have them.

This dry tunnel also had its narrow spots and was also very long.

Once back up on top, we saw an old street that took the brunt of the massive temple stones that were thrown over the wall. You can see how the ground gave way to those gigantic dropping blocks. The Romans truly left not one stone upon another. The destruction was complete and has not been reversed since then.

Every place we went, it seemed you could just turn a corner or turn around and suddenly be facing a picturesque place.

Here the Mr. and Mrs. gaze out over the impressive southern Triple Gate where the gentiles could enter into the Court of the Gentiles near (but not TOO near) the temple. As they approached the temple, they came to the inner edge of the Court of the Gentiles and were confronted by a sign that said something like: “Any gentile who passes this line will have only his own decision to blame for his demise.” They were pretty serious about keeping “unclean” people away from the temple. That’s why the Romans had to rescue Paul even though he hadn’t brought gentiles past that point. The rumor that he had was enough to put murder into the hearts of his fellow Jews.

Still outside the south wall of Temple Mount, the Mr. and Mrs. prepare for their next adventure. They patiently spent day after day in this little black sedan.

An interesting sight in Jerusalem was the many military people, especially the machine-gun-toting girls. Many of them looked as cheerful and chatty as students I’ve had, but that weapon… Hmm…

Yes, there are separate entrances to the courtyard near the Western Wall. Men to the left; women to the right. However, this photo makes it look like soldiers and tourists alike disregarded the sign. Me? Well, I was always where I was supposed to be.

Nearly every doorway in Jerusalem has a tiny copy of the Law of Moses in fancy (or plain) boxes. These are mounted about head-height and the really devout will touch them as they enter a place. Sometimes they immediately put their hand to their mouth after touching the scroll-holding box. This one is on the Dung Gate in the south where it is seen by people and cars coming and going day after day.