Tomb of King David – Mount Zion
Photo: Tomb of King David – Mount Zion
The Tomb of King David is one of the most sacred sites for the Jews. Nonetheless, according to the researchers, there is no certainty that this is in fact King David’s burial site. The bible mentions that King David was buried in the City of David, which is located at the foot of the Temple Mount. We know from the bible that some of the kings were buried in a place called the Garden of Uzza- but its location was not identified to this day.
The tradition that locates the Tomb of King David in this site was first documented in the 9th century by the Muslims and adopted over the years by many believers.
The structure that contains the grave is actually the “crypt”, the underground hall of the crusader church. The building was renovated into its current shape during the 14th century by Franciscan monks, the custodians of the Holy Land.
During the 16th century the Franciscan monks were expelled by the Muslims, and the building became a mosque, serving for hundreds of years as a prayer house for Muslims, who consider King David to be one of their prophets.
Today the site is visited mainly by Jews, and it is run in a synagogue model. The tombstone is in the interior room, with separate entrances for men and women. At the center of the room is a tomb covered by a cloth. On the back of the burial coffin you can see an alcove in the wall, perhaps a remnant of an ancient synagogue which was mentioned in the Byzantine era as one of the seven synagogues that were located on Mount Zion.
In the past, colorful tiles decorated the walls, when the place served as a mosque. These were Iznik tiles, named after the city in Turkey where they were manufactured 200 years ago. These tiles were shattered in an atrocious vandalism attack.
On the floor on top of the tomb there is the Cenacle, one of the sacred sites of Christianity. The external courtyard (on the exit from the tomb’s compound to the left) lays an interior courtyard surrounded by arches from the Franciscan monastery, which used to occupy this place during the 14th century. This kind of a closed courtyard is characteristic of many monasteries in Europe, known as “Cloisters”. The courtyards were meant to provide a quiet and safe place for monks and priests who lived in the church compounds. The rooms have small windows and they were built behind the vestibule. The roofed halls provided shelter from the rain and the access to the open air was through the main hall. A water well was dug under the courtyard. In monasteries or other churches, the courtyard serves for the cultivating of ornamental plants, vegetable gardens and even raising animals.
On the roof of the building there is an impressive observation point, and a mosque’s minaret, built by the Turks during the 16th century following the Christians’ expulsion from Mount Zion. The compound then became a “khan”- a guest house for caravans that arrived in Jerusalem after the closure of the city’s gates at nighttime.
Today the students of “Yeshivat Hatfutsot”, who come from all over the world, live in the rooms that are scattered on the first floors of the compound. In one of the adjacent halls, the Jews light candles in honor of King David.
Those who are interested can visit a number of additional sites in Mount Zion: The Holocaust Cellar, the Dormition Abbey, Oscar Schindler’s Grave and the Church of Saint Peter in Gallicantu.