Tower of David, 1900 – Another “Once Upon a Time in Jerusalem”
The Tower of David is a citadel located at a strategic point on one of the highest spots in the Old City, overlooking the Valley of Guy Ben Hinnom.
Originally constructed by King Herod as part of three watchtowers he built,
it became the last stronghold to fall to the Romans during the Great Revolt.
It withstood until after the walls were breached on the 17th of Tammuz, the Temple was burned on the 9th of Av, and the Upper City fell.
Following the destruction of the Second Temple, the Romans built the encampment of the Tenth Legion on the ruins of the watchtower.
Empires rose and fell, and in the 12th century, the citadel was rebuilt, featuring water-filled moats for defense and five heavy iron gates.
In 1538, Suleiman the Magnificent, who rebuilt and expanded Jerusalem’s walls, reinforced the citadel, adding a cannon courtyard. In the 17th century, a mosque’s minaret was added, becoming a Jerusalem icon.
Later, a large underground hall was constructed in the complex, serving as barracks for Ottoman soldiers.
During the early British Mandate, the building, originally intended for soldiers, was used as a detention center alongside the police station—the Kishle. The British turned the citadel into a small museum tracing the city’s development until their expulsion from the land.
In 1989, the Tower of David became home to the Museum of the History of Jerusalem. In 2023, the new Jerusalem Museum was inaugurated at the Tower, featuring ten galleries depicting the city’s 3,000-year history—
a city that has been the center of the world.
In 2022, the tower and its minaret, which was at risk of collapse, were restored—because that’s what happens when the world’s most important city weighs on your head for so many years.
This is our Jerusalem—an iconic tower in the promised city of our ancestors, ceaselessly active for 3,000 years. A city that has witnessed two Temples, the rise and fall of kings, global empires that have slowly faded,
and one eternal, small, and resilient people, enduring pain and suffering yet continuing an unbroken lineage through the ages.
Shabbat Shalom to all those far and near from Jerusalem.
May our kidnapped brothers return safely to their homes today, and may peace come upon Israel.
Photographer: Unknown.
