Today we went to the City of David. Now, for those of you who don't know, this is not Bethlehem. The term 'City of David' refers to Jerusalem, which is where David reigned. We went to see the excavated walls that were a part of this city, the base of a large building that may have been David's Palace, and much more as well.
But the highlight of the trip was going through Hezekiah's tunnel, which was the former water source for the city of Jerusalem. During Hezekiah's time, the tunnel was carved beneath the city in order that the Gihon Spring might be protected from any attempting to lay siege on Jerusalem. If they lost their source of water, they'd lose their lives.
This tunnel is still open for visiting today, and the Gihon Spring still flows through it. The water probably isn't too wonderful for drinking, but it was great for walking down and splashing each other. The tunnel itself is great for singing in, or hiding behind corners and jumping out to scare each other, or smacking your head on the ceiling when you didn't expect it to be that short. The water level was only about as deep as our calves, except for at the beginning when at one point the water level was 70 cm (about the height of an average person's thighs.
The tunnel is narrow and the ceiling low, meaning tall people had to duck, and on top of that, it was pitch dark if you lacked a flashlight. It was a great experience though. At the very end, in the pool where the water collects, several of us may or may not have gone completely underwater just for fun. We didn't have to walk back to the center; otherwise I probably wouldn't have done that.
I was a few minutes late this morning, so I ended up with Dr. Muhlestein's class intead of my own. It was nice to get to be with the other group of kids for a day (the student body is divided into two classes for field trips, and we hardly ever get to be with the other group). I really enjoyed it.
But the highlight of the trip was going through Hezekiah's tunnel, which was the former water source for the city of Jerusalem. During Hezekiah's time, the tunnel was carved beneath the city in order that the Gihon Spring might be protected from any attempting to lay siege on Jerusalem. If they lost their source of water, they'd lose their lives.
This tunnel is still open for visiting today, and the Gihon Spring still flows through it. The water probably isn't too wonderful for drinking, but it was great for walking down and splashing each other. The tunnel itself is great for singing in, or hiding behind corners and jumping out to scare each other, or smacking your head on the ceiling when you didn't expect it to be that short. The water level was only about as deep as our calves, except for at the beginning when at one point the water level was 70 cm (about the height of an average person's thighs.
The tunnel is narrow and the ceiling low, meaning tall people had to duck, and on top of that, it was pitch dark if you lacked a flashlight. It was a great experience though. At the very end, in the pool where the water collects, several of us may or may not have gone completely underwater just for fun. We didn't have to walk back to the center; otherwise I probably wouldn't have done that.
I was a few minutes late this morning, so I ended up with Dr. Muhlestein's class intead of my own. It was nice to get to be with the other group of kids for a day (the student body is divided into two classes for field trips, and we hardly ever get to be with the other group). I really enjoyed it.
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