The East Side:
The Wall, Golden Gate, Kidron Valley
The east wall of the city and the temple mount from the Mt. of Olives. Looking from the Dome to the North
Running along the Eastern Walll of Jerusalem
The east wall of the city and the temple mount from the Mt. of Olives. Looking from the Dome to the South
South East Corner of Temple Mount Wall from Mt. of Olives
This is the southeast corner. The east wall runs to the right and the south wall runs to the left.
This is the south wall running from the southeast corner.
Towards the south end of the eastern wall there is a seam. This is an addition onto the temple mount during Herod the Great's building of the second temple.
To the right the Hasmonean's had added on to the old temple mound of Solomon.
This is the seam looking up at it from ground level. Behind me is the Kidron Valley with a deep, steep drop. From the bottom of the Kidron Valley the top of the wall is very high. The temple would have stood above the walls.
While looking at the south end of the east wall of the city I turned around and looked down into the Kidron Valley. This picture shows how deep the Kidron is.
Notice the telephone pole near the bottom of the valley to get a perspective of how deep the Kidron Valley is.
This is a trail that runs diagonally along the side of the Kidron Valley. I used this trail one afternoon to climb down into the Kidron Valley and then up the other side through the Jewish graves to the Mount of Olives.
Some tombs in the Kidron Valley. I investigated these. They are carved out of the stone in the bedrock of the Mount of Olives.
In the picture below you can see a close up of the graves that are scattered above and below the trail that runs infront of the two tomb structures.
Jewish graves on the side of the Mount of Olives.
As you ascend the Mt. of Olives (seen here) this area is covered with Jewish graves.
This is the mount of Olives as viewed from the southeast corner of the temple mound and the Old City of Jerusalem.
As you look across the Kidron Valley then to the south you see Arab housing on Jewish tombs from the time of the Old Testament.
Arab housing above.
Ancient Jewish graves below
Here you can see an Old Testament tomb.
These tombs date from the time Isaiah would have spoken to one of the royal stewards. Isaiah 22:15 says:
"This is what the Lord, the Lord Almighty, says: 'Go, say to this steward, to Shebna, who is in charge of the palace: What are you doing here and who gave you permission to cut out a grave for yourself here, hewing your grave on the height and chiseling your resting place in the rock? Beware, the Lord is about to take firm hold of you and hurl you away, O you might man. He will roll you up tightly like a ball and throw you into a large country."
This now is a view down the Kidron Valley looking south from the southeast corner of the temple mound.
The City of David rises up out of the valley on the right (west) side in this picture.
Here, still looking south, you can see the Kidron Valley. The slope on the right side is the City of David.
