The City of David

I LOVED our field trip to the City of David this past week. A huge part of our curriculum here is the history of the city of Jerusalem. As we've been reading the Old Testament it's been so cool to gain an understanding of the city as it existed and evolved throughout history.

Recorded history of Jerusalem dates back to about 2000 BC around the time of Abraham and it was called the Salem (Jerusalem directly translates to City of Salem). It was a small Canaanite city built on a hill with two valleys on the either side - the Kidron Valley on the east and the Tyropean Valley on the west. These two valleys meet on the south side of Salem making one valley that runs all the way to the Dead Sea, the lowest body of water in the world. During the rainy season (November - March) water runs down this valley and replenishes the Dead Sea. 

This is the Kidron Valley running along the east side of Old City. You can see the southeast corner of the Old City on the left and a hillside covered in Jewish graves and tombs on the right. 

I'm standing in front of one of the original walls of Salem which existed from the time of Abraham all the way through Lehi and through Christ's time.

Mount Moriah, the site of the first and second temples in Jerusalem and the highest point of the hill between the Kidron and Tyropean valleys, was outside of the city of Salem just to the north. That's where Abraham went to sacrifice his son Isaac. Mount Moriah is where the Dome of the Rock currently stands.

The City of Salem (Jeru-Salem), as it existed when David conquered it, had walls surrounding it. David and his people moved in and built a palace in the northern part of the kingdom. At this point in history newly conquered Salem began to be called the City of David (a nickname for Jerusalem as it existed then). 

Here are some of the remains of King David's palace.

Here is a stone wall built just below David's palace on the east side in order to support the structure.

King Solomon later extended the city limits further north to include Mount Moriah where the first temple was built around 900 BC - the temple often referred to as Solomon's Temple. Slowly Jerusalem grew and as it extended, the City of David still referred to the original city limits. In a sense the "City of David" became more of a neighborhood name within the growing Jerusalem. King Hezekiah again extended the city limits to include the new neighborhoods to the west towards a third valley called the Hinnom Valley.  Here's a picture of a model of what Jerusalem looked like right before the Babylonian destruction in 587BC (looking north). 

On the southeast side you can see two parallel valleys on either side of a defined paintbrush tip-shaped area with thick outer walls which is the City of David (the oldest part of Jerusalem). The square shaped complex on the north side of the City of David was likely David's palace. Solomon's temple extension is directly to the north of the City of David. To the west is the extension added during Hezekiah's reign.

I wasn't planning on this blogpost turning into a history lesson... I'm turning into Professor Chadwick. Help me. 

Anyways, it was just really cool to be in the City of David and see for myself the area referred to in the Old Testament. 

Here's Brother Chadwick instructing our class on the east side of the City of David which is now reinhabited by local residents. 

We finished the field trip by walking through Hezekiah's Tunnel. It's a tunnel that was carved all the way from the Gihon springs on the north side of the City of David to the south side. 

I'm ready to go with my slingpack, flashlight, rolled-up pants, and water shoes!

The Gihon springs! It's now underground but used to be above ground. (With Clarah, Kasdyn, Jordan, and Hunter).

A five shekel flashlight keychain with the City of David logo!! I couldn't help myself. 

Inside the tunnel with Kasdyn and Mackenzie.

Me being a dork at the pool at the end of the tunnel.

Siloam Pool selfie!!

Then we walked back to the north side of the city through old sewage tunnels. Ancient poop water was dripping on my head the whole time :/ Here I am with Amber, Sadie, and Clarah!