A discussion of the development of modern Jerusalem would be incomplete without consideration of the role of Teddy Kollek, the first mayor of reunified Jerusalem. This walk visits three of the many projects his Jerusalem Foundation initiated - the continuing development of Yemin Moshe, Teddy Park, and the Jerusalem Walls National Park. We will also watch a short movie in the Artists Colony about Teddy's achievements.
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Time: 2 hours
Type of walk: Circular
Difficulty: An easy walk, mainly on paved roads
Starting point: The intersection of Bloomfield Boulevard with Keren Hayesod, King David St. and Jabotinsky St. There are WC's in the adjacent Bloomfield Park by the water fountain.
Public transport: Many buses pass by the starting point of this walk. Enter "Montefiore Windmill" into Moovit.
Driving directions and parking: Enter "Sderot Bloomfield" into Waze. There is paid parking on Heinrich Heine St.
OVERVIEWS
TEDDY KOLLEK - THE GREAT BUILDER
What do the following personalities have in common – King Solomon, King Hezekiah, King Herod and Teddy Kollek? The answer? All were great builders of Jerusalem. Admittedly, the name Teddy Kollek sounds out of place in this list but in terms of the number of projects he initiated he did more for the physical layout of this city than any of these other historic figures.
Teddy Kollek (1911-2007) was born in a small town in Hungary. He spent his early years in Vienna. Following his aliya to Israel, he became one of the founding members of Kibbutz Ein Gev, but left the kibbutz to take up administrative positions. He stood for election as mayor of Jerusalem in 1965, a position that at that time was of no great importance. To his surprise, he was elected mayor of this small sleepy town. After the Six Day War and reunification of Jerusalem he suddenly found himself mayor of a large, vibrant metropolitan city, a position he held until 1993.
Teddy established the Jerusalem Foundation soon after being elected, and this foundation initiated numerous building projects, including 200 parks and gardens, the redevelopment of Yemin Moshe, the Israel Museum, community and health centers, and much more. As mayor of a city in which the three monotheistic faith had a stake, Teddy appreciated that it was his job to reach out to all the citizens of his city and to include them in his projects.
Teddy was buried on Mount Herzl in an area usually reserved for national leaders - an indication of how highly he was regarded.
WHAT'S IN A WALL?
The present Old City wall was built by the Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificent between 1535 to 1538, and it is truly a magnificent structure with battlements and 34 watchtowers. Much of its foundations, however, are from previous eras.
When King David conquered Jerusalem from the Jebusites it was a strongly fortified city, and David made no major changes to the original Canaanite walls. However, King Solomon, who reigned between about 970 to 930 BCE, extended the city northwards to encompass the Temple Mount and the intervening Ophel Hill.
During the rule of Hezekiah (715 to 686 BCE), the city expanded onto Jerusalem's "Western Hill" and now included Mount Zion and areas of the present-day Jewish and Armenian Quarters. Much of this expansion was due to immigrants arriving in Jerusalem from the Northern Kingdom after its destruction by the Assyrians. Hezekiah therefore extended the walls of Jerusalem to enclose this "Upper City". This new section of the city wall extended from the City of David, enclosed the Siloam Pool which was outside the southern limits of the City of David, and surrounded Mount Zion. It then followed the current western wall of the Old City, and from about where the Jaffa Gate is today it turned eastward to reach the Temple Mount. Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon, destroyed Jerusalem, its Temple, and its walls in 586 BCE with great devastation (II Kings 25:9-10).
When Nehemiah came to Jerusalem from Babylon in 445 BCE to join the returnees, the population of the city was quite small. Rebuilding the city wall was a priority for him, and the area he enclosed was probably equivalent to that enclosed by King Solomon’s walls. A remnant of his wall can be seen in the City of David (see our webpage "The City of David").
During the Second Temple period, the city expanded again to the Western Hill, and the Hasmoneans built what Josephus calls the “First Wall”. This more or less enclosed the same area as Hezekiah’s wall and it included Mount Zion. During the rule of King Herod (37 to 4 BCE), a “Second Wall” was added to enclose an area north of the First Wall in what is now the Arab Quarter, and this extended to the northwest corner of the Temple Mount. The walls of Jerusalem were destroyed by the Romans during the Great Revolt, including a northern wall that extended to where the Russian Compound is today, and their new city of Aelia Capitolina had no walls around it, a reflection of the security they felt as victors.
The Byzantines built a wall around Jerusalem, but this was destroyed by an earthquake in 1033 CE. It was not until the Muslim Fatimid caliphate that a new wall was built around the city and this city wall did not include Mount Zion or the City of David. Much of the Crusader and Ottoman walls were built on top of the foundations of the Fatimid wall, and therefore these also did not include either Mount Zion or the City of David. Knowledge of the location of the City of David was lost and was only discovered by archaeologists in the modern era.
Hence, the present western wall of Jerusalem from the Jaffa Gate to Mount Zion has been the city wall since the time of Hezekiah, and this section of the Turkish wall includes foundations from the First Temple, Hasmonean, Herodian, Byzantine and Muslim periods. In one small section of the wall (which will be viewed on this walk in the Jerusalem Walls National Park), remnants of all these historic periods can be seen together.
The walk:
For additional information about the windmill, Mishkanot Sha’ananim and Yemin Moshe see the walk "Yemin Moshe to Nahalat Shivah".
Yemin Moshe was established in 1892-1894 with monies from the Montefiore Testimonial Fund. When Sir Moses Montefiore built Mishkenot Sha’ananim with funds from the Judo Touro estate, he also bought the land around it and this enabled his project of settling Jews outside the Old City to be continued after his death. The intention was that Yemin Moshe would become a middle-class neighborhood. However, following the War of Independence, the Hinnom Valley between the Old City and Yemin Moshe became the armistice line with Jordan and Yemin Moshe became a dangerous place to live in because of sniper fire. The residents moved out, immigrants from Persia and Turkey took their place, and the neighborhood deteriorated.
After the Six Day War and the reunification of the city, Yemin Moshe was redesigned as an upscale neighborhood that would include an artists' colony. The artists never materialized. Nevertheless, the immigrants that were living here and in Mishkenot Sha'ananim had to relocate. This was one of the tough and controversial decisions made by Teddy. The residents here had endured a lot living close to the border with Jordan and had formed cohesive communities. However, when the area was upgraded, they could no longer afford to live in their homes. They received some compensation, but the communities separated. There have been no large-scale relocations like this in Jerusalem since that time.
The Sultan's Pool was built by another great builder of Jerusalem, Herod the Great, to ensure water was available for the palace he built for himself next to the Citadel and adjacent to the western city wall. Water accumulated in the pool from a damming up of the Hinnom Valley. The pool was renovated by the Crusaders in the 12th century, who used it for watering their horses, and again by the Mamluke sultan Barquq. The Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificent enlarged the pool into a reservoir in the 16th century (hence the name of the pool). He also built a public fountain (a sabil) on the rim of the pool for the use of travellers coming to Jerusalem from the direction of Bethlehem. To supply this fountain, he diverted water from the Hasmonean-built Lower Aqueduct. This aqueduct skirted the Sultan's Pool (see the walk "The Sherover and Haas Promenades" and the essay "Supplying water to thirsty Jerusalem"). You will see the fountain towards the end of this walk, although it is no longer functional. The pool area is now used as an open-air theatre for concerts.
Nearby places of interest:
Sound and Light Fountain Show in Teddy Park. There are only short water shows during the day and it is worth coming back at night to see the full display. The times of the shows during the summer are as follows: Daytime (water display only) - 10:00 AM, 12:00 PM, 2:00 PM, 4:00 PM, and 6:00 PM. Nighttime (water display with lights and music): 8:00 PM, 9:00 PM and 10:00 PM. There are reduced hours during the winter.
Begin Museum at 6 S.U. Nahon St: This museum is definitely worth a visit. Menachem Begin exudes Jewish pride and the story of his life and political activities is quite inspiring. The museum is in the form of an experiential multi-media exhibit that takes you on a time journey. It is open Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9.00 AM-4.30 PM, Tuesday 9.00 AM-9.00 PM, and Friday and holidays 9.00 AM-12.30 PM. Tours have to be booked in advance. You can fill in this form online or call 02 565 2011. The museum commentary can be heard in Hebrew, Russian, Arabic, French or Spanish.
Tower of David Museum is by the Jaffa Gate. The exhibits are in the medieval guardrooms, and present the main events of the city’s history in a chronological sequence beginning with the Canaanite period and continuing until Jerusalem became the capital of the State of Israel. The museum is open 9.00 AM-4.00 PM (9.00 AM-5.00 PM in August), 9.00 AM-2.00 PM on Friday (until 4.00 PM in August), and 9.00 AM-4.00 PM on Saturday (until 5.00 PM in August). Tours are offered in English on Sundays to Thursdays at 11.00 AM, and on Fridays at 11.00 AM in July and August. There are no tours on holidays or holiday eves. The tour is included in the admission price and you can sign up on line for this. In the event there is no escort guide, visitors are provided with a complementary audio guide. A large part of the exhibition is accessible for people with mobility problems and wheelchairs. Admission is 40 NIS for adults, 20 NIS for seniors, and 18 NIS for children. A reduced-price combined ticket is available for the Night Spectacular and can be used within a year of purchase of the ticket. The Sound and Light Night Spectacular at the Citadel shows the story of Jerusalem through virtual reality images. It runs for 45 minutes. To avoid disappointment, reserve in advance by calling 972-2-626 5333 (from outside Israel) or *2884 in Israel. Times of the show are also provided at this phone number. Tickets on the night of the show are subject to availability. The show is wheelchair accessible.
Cable Car Museum at 17 Hebron Rd. is one of Jerusalem's lesser-known museums. It is in the most northern building of the Zion Hotel although everyone is entitled to visit it. Mount Zion was captured by the Israel Defense Force during Israel's War of Independence but it was dangerous to supply this position because of firing by the Arab Legion. A cable car was therefore set up over the Hinnom Valley and used at night to deliver supplies. The present cable is new, but the cart, which was big enough to transport soldiers, is the original. The museum is open from 9.00 AM-5.00 PM Sunday to Thursday, and 9.00 AM -1.00 PM on Friday, but your visit needs to be arranged in advance. Their number is (02) 568-9569 or (02) 460-9540. There is no admission charge.
Yemin Moshe and Montefiore's windmill from the Walls Around Jerusalem National Park.
As explained in the adjacent sign, the base of this part of the Turkish wall is of First Temple, Hasmonean, and Herodian origins, while the base of the watchtower is from the Muslim Ayyubid period.
These steps in the Jerusalem Walls National Park indicate the presence of a gate to Herod's palace. The gate was covered over by the Turks when they constructed their wall.
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