On Tuesday, 26 July 2016, our Palestine of Jesus program devoted an entire day to a very small area of the Old City.

We began with a visit to the Haram Al-Sharif (‘The Most Noble Sanctuary’). This is the third holiest site in the Islamic world and one of the cultural glories of Jerusalem. It is always a privilege for our students to be welcomed to the Haram as guests of the Waqf, the Islamic trust that cares for the site, and today was no exception. However, it was lovely to see the scaffolding in the Dome of the Rock had been removed following completion of the restoration work previously underway.

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[Inside the Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem.]
Following our visit to the Haram we went back in time with a visit to the excavations under the ‘City of David’ which have revealed the advanced engineering achievements demonstrated in the complex water system developed by the Jebusite rulers of Canaanite Jerusalem in the middle of the second millennium BCE. We were also able to explore the modifications to that ancient system made in the time of the Jewish king, Hezekiah around 700 BCE. Many of the group took the opportunity to walk through Hezekiah’s Tunnel, which still conveys water from the ancient Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam.

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[The ancient Canaanite water cistern, Jerusalem.]
Finally, we visited the excavations below the Haram where the contours of Herod’s Jerusalem from the first century can still be seen. The day ended with reflections led by our Visiting Professor, Dr. Peter Walker, on the ancient steps leading to the great plaza of the Second Temple.

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[On the steps of the Herodian temple, Jerusalem.]