Herod’s Gate

On this and our previous visit, we'd seen much of Jerusalem from ground level, but most of its history lies many metres below the present surface. This was the day when we were to discover so much more of Jerusalem's ancient history.

Gil and Mira had booked for the four of us to go on two guided tours, starting with a tour of the City of David. Menachem, our very knowledgeable guide started at a lookout overlooking the present Old City, where he pointed out the area where it is believed the early city began some 3200 years ago. We also viewed ancient stone walls, believed to be part of the palace of King David, dating back to the 10th to 9th century BC. The old city is like one giant archaeological site, and we spent some time observing some archaeologists at work many metres below where we were standing.

There are many tunnels which used to carry water, and we walked through one of them, a distance of several hundred metres, under the walls of the old city. Both of us were pleased that we'd lost weight, as it was a fairly tight squeeze in some places. This was a fascinating way to learn about Jerusalem's origins and history, and we thoroughly enjoyed our two hours with a very knowledgeable guide. We also realised how little we know, and Brian resolved there and then that he is going to re-read that fact-filled book by Simon Sebag Montefiore, "Jerusalem: A Biography."

We then went for a wander in the area of the western wall of Temple Mount, and Gil and Brian visited the synagogue at the southern end of the wall. (By custom, women aren't allowed in there). It was a very biblical scene with many religious Jews praying in there, and Brian would have loved to have taken photos. Somehow it didn't seem right to do so, though that didn't deter quite a number of the tourists who were happily snapping away without any sense of decorum.

This morning had been only Part 1 of very interesting our history lesson, and after a light lunch in the Arab quarter of the old city we set off on Part 2, which was a tour through the Tunnel of the Wall. It is easy to forget that the walls of Temple Mount extend down well below the present street level. The Western Wall Tunnel is an underground tunnel exposing the full length of the Western Wall. It is located under buildings of the Old City of Jerusalem. While the open-air portion of the Western Wall is approximately 60 metres long, the majority of its original length is hidden underground. The tunnel allows access to an additional 485 metres of the wall.

Our American-born guide for this tour fancied himself as a stage actor, and he certainly livened things up with his performance. It proved to be highly enjoyable. The tunnel itself was beautiful and cool, almost like being in air conditioning, and a pleasant break from the heat outside. To see thousands those giant limestone blocks up close, and to realise how heavy they are and how precisely they fit together with barely the the space for a cigarette paper between them, makes one realise what a massive engineering structure the Temple Mount is. It was built under the reign of King Herod, who is responsible for many grandiose engineering works such as his three palaces on the top of the almost inaccessible Masada.

We spent some time examining the biggest stone in the Western Wall, often called the Western Stone. It ranks as one of the heaviest objects ever lifted by human beings without powered machinery. This single block of stone has a length of 13.6 metres, height of 3 metres, and an estimated width of between 3.5 metres and 4.5 metres. Estimates place its weight at 520 tonnes. That is only slightly less than a fully-laden A380 jumbo, so it's mind-boggling to think of this huge object being quarried and then lifted and manoeuvred into place. Following our excellent day of history tours we headed back to Gil and Mira's for breather before heading out for a very tasty meal at one of the many restaurants in the suburb of Ein Kerem.Read more