City of David, Church of the Holy Sepulcher &House of Caiaphas

It's Friday January 26th and we're staying at the Grand Court Hotel (click) because Jerusalem is our focus till we leave on Sunday.   Our first stop today was at the Yad Vashem which is the national museum and memorial to the holocaust.  The name itself means "memorial" and "everlasting name" or the memorial of everlasting names. We spent an hour which was not enough time but it gave us a very visual impression of what it was all about.

It was going to be a busy day and our next stop was the old City of David which comprised ancient Jerusalem just south of the existing city wall of Jerusalem built by the Ottomans (click).

Area marked (from model) showing the City of David, Kidron Valley, Gihon Spring and the Pool of Siloam

Before being captured by David, it was a Jebusite city called Zion.  Not to be confused today with Mount Zion, a hill located south of the Armenian Quarter. The change happened around 1st century AD.

The Jebusite City of Zion with the stone stepped wall. The wall at the upper right is from Davids time and at the far side is
the rectangle tower from the time the Jews returned from Babylon under Nehemiah and Ezra.

Descending to the Gihon Spring.

We then had a tour of Hezekiah's Tunnel (click) which was built to bring water from the Gihon Spring (click) into the city pool of Siloam because Hezekiah feared an impending siege by the Assyrians.







We then walked to the location of the Pool of Siloam which does not have much to show but at least we saw what is left of it.  We then entered old Jerusalem via the Jaffa Gate into the Muslim Quarter and on to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (click).

Looking back toward the Jaffa Gate

Me standing in the entrance courtyard to the Church of the Holy Sepucher

We then walked up to Mount Zion and viewed King David's Tomb (click), the Last Supper Room (click) and ended up at the Church of St. Peter (click).  Behind the church is what is believed to be the remains of House of Caiaphas the High Priest who arrested Jesus prior to his crucifixion. Jesus was detained over night at this location Read Matthew chapter 26 (click).  It is also where the apostle Peter denied Jesus three times.

Ruins of the House of  Caiaphas with the church of St. Peter in the background.

It was a long day as we arrived back at our hotel around 4:30 pm.