Recently I did one of the coolest tourist things I have done in Jerusalem. I walked through Hezekiah's tunnel. It is a tunnel which leads water through a man made shaft, carved out 2700 years ago. They started at both ends and somehow managed to meet in the middle, carving their way through solid rock. Today the tunnel is not used for keeping the city's water supply safe, but is part of the City of David archeological park. You can take a tour of the park and then you get to walk through the tunnel. It was super cool. There is still water running through the tunnel, so you have to bring shoes and clothing suited for walking in water. And it was such a great experience. The water was clean and lovely to walk through. The tunnel is pitch black, but it didn't feel scary or dangerous or anything. The pace of the tour makes you totally forget to be claustrophobic or feel locked inside or anything like that. Also everybody has to have a flash light with them, which is really helpful when you go on the tour. It means that not only do you have the light from your own flashlight, but also from all the other people on your tour, which helped me at least. (I am such a scaredy-cat when it comes to closed spaces and water...)
I cannot believe I have lived in Jerusalem for over 7 years without doing this walk. It was truly amazing. To think that so long ago they were able to dig this tunnel, which brought safety for the city's water supply. And even more amazing to think that today it is still standing, still leading water, and it is safe and clean and we can walk in it, experience the wonderful handiwork of the craftsman of ancient times. It is an experience which I highly recommend. I think I am going to go back and do the tunnel tour again. It was simply awesome! Want to come?
0 comments:
Post a Comment