It's All a Wash

you know.. they say it never rains in jerusalem this time in the year. i suppose that our presence here is creating quite a havoc in the weather system. it almost seems like we are back in the fickle-minded south carolina.

after lunch we were to meet at the gate once again in order to head out for another field lecture from 1-5pm. we knew the sites that we planned on visiting. one of which was hezekiah’s tunnel. the tunnel was used for carrying water from outside the city walls at the gihon spring back inside without have to exit the gates… in case of siege. therefore, walking through this tunnel means walking through water that is anywhere from knee to about waste high.

getting ready for the walk, we dressed appropriately (including our great shoes) and brought only what we though necessary—cameras, flashlight, and purell. our walk began fairly calm.. although we noted it was about to rain, but a little sprinkle can’t hurt anyone. we headed through the zion gate about 200 yards from campus and walked through the jewish quarter to see the collonade, cardo, and a wall built during the time of the first temple. by this time the rain was coming down a bit harder, but we kept going heading for the temple mount. We saw the tomb of zechariah, bene hezir, and the pillar of absalom..

there was enough rain now for cars and buses to make a big splash as they drove by. not to be deterred, dr. c just kept on lecturing and walking. we stood on the eastern ridge looking down into the kidron valley and saw the location of the gihon spring. now.. we were standing in the midst of a downpour complete with thunder. where do we go?? there are no shelters nearby? we ducked into a walkway and attempted to huddle 40+ people under the leaves of a fig tree. how did we know? well of course dr. c knows, but there were figs still hanging on the branches.. as we were running toward the tree, hail was added into the mix. Water was now pouring down the streets and cars driving through created tidal waves soaking any remaining dry spot on pedestrians running by. we managed to skirt around a few corners and found refuge in what seemed to be a park area… we hoped to wait out the storm, but there was no release in the downpour.

dr. c released us to make our way back or wander around the city. since it was cold and we were wet, jenni and i jumped on the bandwagon with james, kevin, and brad to head back to juc with the 3 mrs. howells (just think gilligan’s island). after warm showers and dry clothes and some toast and jelly, we feel much better and are holing up inside awaiting a warm dinner.

hopefully tomorrow will be much nicer. we are headed for the temple mount at 7:30am.

---emby