The water was rising. The ceilings and walls were getting closer, closer, and closer until we were hunched over, slogging through knee-deep water. I was especially grateful, at this moment, that had I never suffered from claustrophobia. Though, after a while of being 130 feet below ground, I started to wonder how I got here. I was in a stone tunnel that was dug out over 2,000 years ago by hand! Thankfully, my anxiety started to subside as the awe of the situation sunk in. I was in the CIty of David, underneath Jerusalem, walking through Hezekiah’s Tunnel.
I was 23 years old and had never shown much interest in history, yet here I was, maneuvering my five foot eight frame through an unilluminated, wet tunnel five feet high and two feet wide. All at once, I couldn’t imagine anywhere else I wanted to be. As I felt my way forward using the tiny flashlights some of us were provided, and the stone walls, that eventually rose to at least standing height, I felt transported. I imagined the people from 2,000 years ago digging this tunnel, all the work that went into it, and the history of it made me dizzy. Or it might have been that I was packed into a narrow, underground tunnel with at least 75 strangers around me. I later learned that the purpose for this tunnel was to divert water from the nearby Gihon Spring into the Pool of Siloam in case of an attack on the city. It was genius, really. I fell more in love with Jerusalem than I ever thought possible. I wanted to devour every single bit of information. Unfortunately, there was only so much that I was able to absorb in the three days I spent there.
Prior to this trip, I never had the slightest desire to go to Israel, but, being a budding nomad, when the opportunity to go presented itself, I had no choice but to pack my bags. I wasn’t going to miss my chance to travel. What I gained, though, ended up being so much more valuable than a stamp in my passport. Walking the streets of Jerusalem, being in the City of David, going through those tunnels, even sitting on an old brick wall on a Saturday morning with a warm cup of tea looking out at this phenomenal city, I felt connected to it in a way I never felt before. This was where I wanted to be, this place felt more like home than any house I ever had, any city I ever lived in. This was where my heart found its home.
