Day 5 - The City of David

We started off our day at Hezekiah’s Tunnel. It was a 30 minute walk through the pitch black, narrow tunnels in freezing water. Of course, we had our flashlights. For one minute we turned off our flashlights and braved the dark. It’s unbelievable that these tunnels were made by man thousands of years ago by hand, with ancient tools. No electricity!

The City of David is an ancient, yet timeless beauty. The architecture is marvelous. It’s a wonder why we don’t have many things like this at home, or anywhere else. We also learned that throughout the several rulings of the city since David, the conquerors just leveled the cities and built over them.

As soon as we got through the gates to get to the Western Wall, we were approached by a woman telling us to cover our knees. She even went as far as placing a makeshift skirt around Hannah’s waist. When I got closer, I saw people praying and in their own "zone." Their surroundings seemed to escape them and being near that wall was all that mattered. The atmosphere alone was magnificent. The air was thick with faith and hope. I can’t wait for tonight when it is Shabbat and Jerusalem will fill with more life than there is already.

The Time Travel Elevator was a simulator like the Simpson Ride in Universal Studios. It wasn’t as action packed or fast paced, but still pretty cool. My favorite part was when they sprinkled us with water. The narrator was the actor who played Tevya in the movie, “Fiddler on the Roof”. It was a little weird though, because the actual film was in Hebrew and there was an English voice over causing an audio/video lag. Once I got used to it, I was able to really get into the film.

Today was another great day, here in Israel. I’m sure even better is still to come.

- Lexy Guthart (: