The day of the underground walk. I think I can call it this way even if the focus was on the City of David. Looking at the impressive walls of
the Old City as it is seen today one may think that he is looking at the place of the King whose story is known to so many of us. However the truth is that the original old city is outside of today’s Old City. The big story of David from the Scriptures doesn’t mean that the city he captured and made his capital was big too. The then Jerusalem was located on the Eastern Hill above the Gihon Spring that provided much needed water for the city. If the palace of David was North side it definitely highlighted King’s superiority as his subjects had to walk up to meet him. I guess it could also provide a sense of the King watching over his people. However what touched me most was when we reached the original City of David and looking around I could see how the hills do surround the place that was Jerusalem then. Psalm 124 I pray so often in my Breviary says: “Jerusalem! The mountains surround her, so the Lord surrounds his people now and for ever.” Today the city that has spread to the surrounding hills doesn’t make this impression but at that time when only the Easter Hill was inhabited and was called Jerusalem those who prayed this Psalm could very easily get the message that God provide shelter for his people like the mountains here provided shelter for the City. With this thought I descended into the water aqueduct built during the reign of the King Hezekiah. The tunnel was to provide water for the expanding City even in time of a siege. Well, it was thrilling to walk in darkness with our feet in the water but it also showed us how genius the plan was. I must say that the accomplishment of the plan was genius too. The very fact that the tunnel had to be hewn in the rock tells a lot. The quality of job they did is simply excellent. For us it was fun to walk through it but I can only imagine that it was a great blessing for the city when it was completed. Exiting the water tunnel we ended up in the pool of Siloam which is mentioned in the Gospel of St John when Jesus put some mud on the eyes of the blind man and sent him to wash in the pool. This time I was surprised by the scale of the pool even if today only a tiny part of it is excavated. It was a large pool tha was a center of social activity. Now I can see that it was a challenge for the blind man to walk this long distance down. The Gospel simply says that he went to the pool and received sight but it was a long walk and long time with mud on his eyes. Now I wander what he was thinking as he was pushing through the crowds to get to the pool and he had lots of time to think as he was struggling down.
the Old City as it is seen today one may think that he is looking at the place of the King whose story is known to so many of us. However the truth is that the original old city is outside of today’s Old City. The big story of David from the Scriptures doesn’t mean that the city he captured and made his capital was big too. The then Jerusalem was located on the Eastern Hill above the Gihon Spring that provided much needed water for the city. If the palace of David was North side it definitely highlighted King’s superiority as his subjects had to walk up to meet him. I guess it could also provide a sense of the King watching over his people. However what touched me most was when we reached the original City of David and looking around I could see how the hills do surround the place that was Jerusalem then. Psalm 124 I pray so often in my Breviary says: “Jerusalem! The mountains surround her, so the Lord surrounds his people now and for ever.” Today the city that has spread to the surrounding hills doesn’t make this impression but at that time when only the Easter Hill was inhabited and was called Jerusalem those who prayed this Psalm could very easily get the message that God provide shelter for his people like the mountains here provided shelter for the City. With this thought I descended into the water aqueduct built during the reign of the King Hezekiah. The tunnel was to provide water for the expanding City even in time of a siege. Well, it was thrilling to walk in darkness with our feet in the water but it also showed us how genius the plan was. I must say that the accomplishment of the plan was genius too. The very fact that the tunnel had to be hewn in the rock tells a lot. The quality of job they did is simply excellent. For us it was fun to walk through it but I can only imagine that it was a great blessing for the city when it was completed. Exiting the water tunnel we ended up in the pool of Siloam which is mentioned in the Gospel of St John when Jesus put some mud on the eyes of the blind man and sent him to wash in the pool. This time I was surprised by the scale of the pool even if today only a tiny part of it is excavated. It was a large pool tha was a center of social activity. Now I can see that it was a challenge for the blind man to walk this long distance down. The Gospel simply says that he went to the pool and received sight but it was a long walk and long time with mud on his eyes. Now I wander what he was thinking as he was pushing through the crowds to get to the pool and he had lots of time to think as he was struggling down.
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