The "Citadel of David" and the "Tomb of Solomon"

Other than attending classes for eight and a half hours this Tuesday, I also took it upon myself to explore two new locations: "David's Citadel" and "Solomon's Tomb." They're both in quotations because David didn't build his citadel nor was he alive anywhere near the time it was built, and becuase Solomon isn't buried in his tomb, or this one at least, and neither is anyone else, which makes it a rather odd sort of tomb when you think about it. David's Citadel is a towering fortress we see every time we go into the Old City through the Jaffa Gate, so we decided to check it out.

How the day went:


The gate to David's Citadel. The place is basically a castle fortress minus the king and water for the moat. Classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays don't start until 1:00 pm, so this was a morning outing with Ben, Becky, and I.


This, my friends, is David's Citadel. The view is absolutely spectacular from the walls, which makes sense considering it was created to be the main northern defense.



And, like always, Ben took endless quantities of pictures of random objects, such as this replica of the citadel.



Then we rushed back for lunch and classes. After which the real fun began...


Solomon's Tomb - although, as i discussed earlier, it does not and never has contained Solomon. five of us went on the escapade: Jon, Nate, Becky, Mary Joe, and myself. The gaping hole at the top is the first floor of the building....



So we climbed into it....



And went up three stories to the top, where we took a picture :)
We're about forty, maybe fifty, feet up right now.


After all that climbing we were pretty worn out so we decided to go back to JUC


Unfortunately, along the way we saw another cool historical spot we could climb into, so we did.
These are my fellow conspiritors Jon and Mary Joe.



During the daytime, this is what our next location looks like



And once we snuck in, there were cool grates to hang from.



Which naturally lead to another group picture



We had so much fun sneaking around the Kidron Valley for three hours. The nights here are incredible!



A few more night shots. This is the Temple Mount from the cave we were hanging out in.



And the moon over Southern Israel.


Well, two weeks have gone by and the report is still the same, though perhaps with slightly more intensity: there is far too much here to take in and absord. I am constantly surrounded by two cultures entirely different from my own while living in the land where the Bible was written. Please pray for me: I have an undergirding anxiety around me all the time, a lack of peace if you will. Not that I have a lack of peace about being here, but somehow I cannot relax here, even when alone. I've prayed long and hard, but to no end. My whole body is tense and sleep does not come easily. Pray that I will rest in Christ and delight myself entirely in him. Thank you so much for ya'll's support. I've received so many encouraging emails and comments and I have been deeply encouraged. So thank you.