City of David

We started the day (Day 6 in Israel) by visiting the City of David in East Jerusalem. This is a well-excavated site whose findings have helped define the early history of Jerusalem including the time of King David. It is an interesting place as it is located in the heart of the Arab village of Silwan. From this vantage one can also see the Mt. of Olives, (right next to Silwan) which has for many years been a burial sites for Jewish families as well as a pilgrimage site for Christians (as Jesus liked to hang out there). We will visit the Mt. Of Olives tomorrow on Day 7. This location is fascinating to me as it involves the interaction and cooperation of all three major religions on a daily basis. This is indeed a theme throughout Jerusalem and history is filled with examples of success and failure. We received a small taste of things to come, as we also visited parts of the Temple Mount, another site that is significant to Christianity, Islam and Judaism. We will explore this site in greater detail on Day 8. A highlight of the day was traversing Hezekiah’s tunnel, a 2700 year old water system referenced in the Bible (2 Kings 20:20)!