Wednesday – October 11, 2017
We drove slowly around the wall of the Old City in rush hour traffic. It was a glorious morning with a bright sun and cloudless sky. Although my brain was focused on history and archeology, modern Jerusalem was always there reminding me that the city is vibrant, fresh and continuing to evolve and very contemporary.
The bus parked on the road under the silver-domed Al-Aqsa Mosque, on the southeastern side of the Old City, near the entrance to the City of David excavation site. We began our tour high above the ruins overlooking a large Palestinian neighborhood. The City of David is controversial for its location in the Arab territory and is seen as an attempt to establish an Israeli presence in East Jerusalem.
I remembered the geography of the site from our visit yesterday to the Israel Museum. The Model of Jerusalem during the Second Temple Period showed buildings in this area. The City of David is the walled strip of buildings leading down from the Temple Mount in the center of my photo below.
The biblical City of David is supposed to be the original ancient settlement in Jerusalem attributed to Judean kings. Excavations have found shards of pottery and other early artifacts from about 4000 BC. It is an important archaeological site which provides more historical information about the early development of Jerusalem.
After we climbed around the excavation site, we crossed a street to another dig which had been the former Giv’ati parking lot. Among discoveries at this site was an ancient building believed to have been a first century palace, a hoard of 264 gold coins minted during the Byzantine period, and a Roman onyx cameo.
We walked carefully around the dig and entered the Central Drainage Canal which dates from the end of the 1st century BC. This is an underground tunnel connecting the west side of the Temple Mount with Shiloah Pool (a ritual pool).
When Herod rebuilt and enlarged the Second Temple, this drainage facility was constructed to drain runoff rainwater. Today, tourist can walk the entire 650 meter length of the tunnel.
The tunnel wasn’t too creepy, except for the damp moss-covered walls. That’s Alon, the tour guide, behind me as we carefully walked through the tunnel.
The tunnel actually continued to the foundations of the Western Wall. We recognized King Herod’s beautifully crafted blocks of stone. A sign said the Wall was set on natural bedrock.
Surprise! Surprise! I was surprised to recognize the location of where we were when we climbed the stairs up to ground level. We were inside the wall of the Old City. I remembered it from the model at the Israel Museum when I took photos of the Temple Mount. Also, Rafi pointed out the arches on the model.
We were just under the Temple Mount facing another part of the Western Wall which was just beyond a high barricade. Opposite was the modern Jewish Quarter. 
Notice the arches in the center of my photograph. Today we were standing just under the Temple Mount wall near the place where the arches had been 2000 years ago.
There had been a wide walkway above the place we were standing to allow people, horses, and wagons access to the Temple.
Rafi explained details of the site and then we walked around the corner to the southern side of the Temple Mount wall. As you can see from the silver dome of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, we were almost back to where we started this morning
A little further on and we came to the “Southern Steps” also known as the Ophel Ascent. This is a set of stairs which led into the temple and an open space with ritual baths where pilgrims entered the Temple Mount 2000 years ago. Rafi said it was a holy place to some Christians.
We walked toward the modern Jewish Quarter and out through the Dung Gate and back to modern Jerusalem traffic. We drove to Machaneh Yehuda Market for an interesting lunch.
Larry caught a ride on a small beer delivery truck near the market:
The market, also known as Mahane Yehuda or The Shuk, was established on Jaffa Road in 1887 and named after one of the founder’s brothers, Yehuda.
Most of our group had lunch with Rafi and Alon and then took the bus back to the hotel. We had a free afternoon. Doris, Ruth, Cathy and I stayed in the market to explore and have lunch on our own. I love these outdoor markets, so this was a great way to spend an afternoon.
Many locals were shopping for the Sukkoth holiday. We walked around the crowded market and explored the alleyways and interconnecting streets. Ruth had several restaurant recommendations and we found one of them: Azura. There was a long line but our patience was rewarded by a delicious lunch.
After lunch, we shopped for some munchies for a picnic supper tonight with our group members. Then walked through the busy market back to the main street and back to our hotel. It was a long walk and it took a while, but it was fun seeing modern Jerusalem on our own.
This had been another amazing day in Jerusalem!