More From Jerusalem – Not For Yao Ming or Claustrophobics, Or The Fainthearted

The City of David is the oldest settled neighborhood in Jerusalem. It is located on a hillside just outside of the Old City, to the south of the Temple Mount. The earliest permanent settlement in the City of David dates back to the 3rd millennium BCE, and as early as the 18th century BCE the city was fortified with massive stone walls. King David reputedly built his palace and established his capital here around 3,000 years ago. Archeological investigations, which began in the 19th century, are actively ongoing.

The highlight of a visit to the City of David (or the nightmare of the visit, depending on your perspective) is a walk through Hezekiah's Tunnel – a pitch-dark underground passage of cold, knee-to-thigh-high water that is more than 500 meters long, about one meter wide on average, and in some places well short of two meters tall. So, bring a reliable flashlight, wear suitable clothing, be prepared to duck (even if you're only 5'9'' like me), and try not to freak out in the middle – it's a 30-40 minute one way walk with no offramps. I went alone and after seeing some pictures, Eden was very happy not to have joined me, saying “you'd have to ply me with Xanax to get me into that thing.”  



The purpose of the tunnel was to channel water from the Gihon Spring, a powerful but temperamental source. Water from the spring had long been diverted through “Warren's Shaft” (named after the British engineer who discovered it in 1867), which was built in the 18th century BCE to allow city residents to get water without having to exit the city's fortifications. Hezekiah's Tunnel was built more than 1,000 years later, around 700 BCE, to prevent invaders (the Assyrians) from locating the city's water supply and cutting it off. As evidenced by my wet shorts, the ancient source is obviously still at work.

Getting to the tunnel was an adventure in and of itself. Anyone who knows me well will not be surprised to learn that I got woefully lost. Instead of taking the short and easy route to the City of David from inside the Old City through the Dung Gate, I decided to take a more adventurous route around the Old City walls. I had a map and planned to avoid the Silwan neighborhood (to the southeast of the City of David), a place that has had its share of troubles and where Palestinians have clashed in recent days with the Israeli authorities. But I took more than one wrong turn on the hilly, windy streets and then there I found myself, standing in front of a sign indicating in large blue letters that I had indeed entered “Silwan.”

The water from Hezekiah's Tunnel flows into the Pool of Siloam, built in Byzantine times

View looking back over Silwan on my uphill walk to the City of David

Looking up towards the Old City from the City of David

View of Silwan from the City of David

My brief time in Silwan provided a fascinating peek into a neighborhood where tourists rarely venture. Two young Muslim school girls, on the verge of giggling, walked up to me and giddily said “hello.” (I guess it was pretty obvious to them that I was a tourist – maybe it was the SF Giants cap, the large [and ultimately unhelpful] map I was holding, or the camera strapped around my neck.) Two men were vigorously washing a horse and they smiled broadly when I looked at them. A shopkeeper also smiled and said hello.  An old woman looked at me as if I was from Mars and then she went about her business. (Maybe she was a Dodgers' fan.)  I walked past a small convenience store with a large poster of Yassir Arafat behind the counter.

After this unexpected (and unexpectedly friendly) detour, I finally reached my destination, the entrance gate to the City of David. Inside the gate, I was surprised to see dozens of heavily armed Israeli soldiers, with full riot gear, relaxing, chatting, and smoking cigarettes, but obviously ready to jump into action if called upon to do so. It immediately hit me that the army was using the City of David archeological site as a prime staging area for addressing potential unrest in Silwan. It was a sobering sight.

But I pressed onward. I bought my souvenir flashlight for four shekels and then headed down to the tunnel. The cool solace of the tunnel provided a refreshing respite from the intense heat and heavy atmosphere above ground.

About 40 minutes later, I emerged from the dark tunnel into the bright sunshine and searing heat. A few moments after exiting the tunnel, I was greeted by several Orthodox Jews who asked me about the logistics of the hike:  How long was the tunnel and how deep was the water?  Did each person need his own flashlight, or could several people make due with only one flashlight?  Was the water cold or warm? Then, the Muslim call to prayer blared out loudly from seemingly every direction – from the Mount of Olives, from Silwan, from the Temple Mount in the Old City. I decided to take the easiest and most direct route back – up the hill, through the Dung Gate, quickly through the Old City, out the Jaffa gate, and back to the bus station.