Hezekiah’s Tunnel : “Not possible” dismissed a Jewish guide when I mentioned to him my interest in visiting this tunnel of which I had read. “It is in an Arab village.” implying this was a no-go area.
I would have let the matter rest there, except for a casual throw-away comment made by a fellow Tourist in our group being shown around The Citadel, by the Jaffa Gate. The Guide had made a passing reference to the tunnel, and I said you can’t get there. Not so, responded a young woman near me: she had been along it.
It was 1997, and my wife and I had spent two weeks or so travelling the Land of Israel, a trip which began in Tel Aviv, took in Carmel, the Lebanese border the Galil in northern Israel, Masada, Dead Sea, and was nearing journeys end in Jerusalem. With our time in this great country running out there was only one day left to find the tunnel, and that was Departure Day. That morning we were at the Garden Tomb, off Nablus Street. This is the tomb discovered by General Gordon in 1882, and the one (of two) which he considers to be the most likely in which the body of Jesus was placed after crucifixion, and from where He resurrected. We had walked there from our hotel, but did not have the time to walk to the tunnel entrance, so we hired a taxi to take us to the Gihon Spring. Next time, a taxi ride would not be necessary. Find your own way through the Old city, to the Dung Gate, turn left and not far along that road is a flight of steps on your right alongside a wall. Follow those steps downward, and after a short distance you come to Gihon Spring.
We were dropped at this spot by our taxi, and approached a ticket kiosk. Nobody was around except the Argentinean man selling tickets, for which I paid NIS7 each., He then unlocked the tall sturdy gate, let us through, then locked it behind us leaving us to our own devices. We had come prepared for this walk through history, so had brought along canvas shoes, torches and shorts into which I changed, whilst my wife hitches up her skirt, and we plunge in. This tunnel was built by king Hezekiah around 701 BC, in order to secure the water supply when under attack from enemies outside the city. This account is found in the Old Testament book of II Chronicles chapter 32. Around 1880, two Arab boys were playing by the Pool of Siloam when one of them fell into the water. In his efforts to get back out he inadvertently swam under a wall and found himself in darkness. Whilst groping around in the dark he discovered the passage.
Another account of this passage is dated earlier. Archaeologist Charles Warren in 1867 explored it be crawling along on his belly, but how Warren knew the passage was there is not said. However it was rediscovered, we felt as if we were the first to follow the 533 metre long tunnel. There is no light other than our torches. The walls, floor and ceiling are of solid rock, little more than shoulder width, and well under two metres high. The water is from mid-calf to knee deep, cold but not unpleasant. The tunnel is S shaped in order – it is said – for the diggers to avoid the graves of the kings David and Solomon, believed to be somewhere around here. These graves have never been located. Marks of the tunnel excavation are still visible on the walls, and it seemed even possible that we would meet a team of the diggers just abound the bend. But our thirty minutes journey was a solitary one, and we emerged onto the edge of the Pool of Siloam, the place featured in the Gospel writings of the New Testament.
Leaving the Pool, we went up and out on to the adjacent, semi-deserted street. There are no signs around to show this to be the Pool of Siloam. Nothing touristy at all. A street sweeper was at work just up the street, along which we walked, me feeling like Harrison Ford. It was a steep climb back to the main road, coming out just opposite the El Aqsa mosque. Guide books make little mention of the location of this ancient tunnel feature, but it is worth seeking out.
For us, our excursion back into history was complete, so we walked up through the old city, back to our hotel, changed into dry clothing, then sat outside waiting for our lift to the airport, back into our own time of the 20th century, and back home.
Perceptions & Pictures 