Lecture 2

There were so many reasons why Jerusalem was such a great city, such as its location and routes. These routes were the via maris (from Egypt to Mesopotamia) and the king’s highway (red sea to Mesopotamia). It was located between the Mediterranean sea and the desert. Also, it was the connecting land between Africa, India, and Europe. Although there are trade routes along the route to Jerusalem, there are no routes that go directly through the city because it lies on a hill. The Hinnom valley is on the west side of the city and the Kindron valley is on the east side. The closest a person can get to the Temple Mount is by the Western Gate, which is the western gate of the Temple Mount, not of the city. Water in Jerusalem was so scarce that they built a tunnel underground to bring water up to the city from the Gihon spring; it was called Warren’s Shaft. The very first temple was built by Solomon in 950 BCE. Herod built the second Temple and the Temple Mount around it.