Daily Archives: August 9, 2023

A View of Jerusalem From the Citadel

The climb to the roof of the Citadel, also known as the Tower of David, is worth the climb just to see the roof tops of various significance buildings. The Citadel is located at Jaffa [Joppa] Gate which serves as the main entry to the Old City of Jerusalem on the west side of the walled city. 

Our photo looks northeast. 

View of Jerusalem from the Citadel. View is NE.

In a second photo I have placed identifying names on many of the highlights. Remember that you may download these photos for use in your Bible teaching. I had trouble uploading the second photo to WordPress, but you can see it in larger format by right clicking on it to open it.

Photo made from the Citadel. Showing identification of several of the significant rooftop buildings. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.

Beginning left to right here is a list of some of the significant places shown on the photo.

  • Hezekiah’s Pool. Whether this pool had anything to do with King Hezekiah is unknown. Josephus identified it by the name Amygdalon, a place where the 10th Roman Legion was active in A.D. 70 (Wars, 5:468).
  • The Holy Sepulchre. This site has marked the location of Golgotha (the smaller dome) and of the burial of Jesus (the larger dome) since the early 4th century A.D.
  • The tower of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer is the white tower with a pyramidal top. It is also possible to climb to the top of that tower. 
  • At this point look to the North (left) on the horizon where you will see Mount Scopus, the place from which Alexander the Great scoped the city. Today this is the home of the Hebrew University. Continue along the mountain top right to the tower of the Victoria Augusta Hospital. Continue to the south (right) and you will see the Mosque of Omar, more commonly known as the Dome of the Rock. This site sits very near where Solomon’s Temple was built. The hill to the east of the Temple Mount is the Mount of Olives. If I had been using a slightly wider lens we would have a photo of the Tower of Ascension which is near Bethphage and Bethany.