At the Tower of David Museum, not only do the captivating exhibits deepen your understanding of Jerusalem, its very stones are part of this city’s living history. The complex housing the museum, located at the Old City’s Jaffa Gate, spans the centuries: its nearly 500-year-old walls are part of the Turkish citadel; its name derives from a tower so massive that early Jerusalemites ascribed it to their great King David (ironically its builder was actually the much-maligned King Herod); the spire standing over it became a worldwide symbol for Jerusalem after the British General Allenby marched into Jerusalem beneath its shadow in 1917.
Your visit can begin with a breath-taking view of old and new Jerusalem from the top of the tower for which the museum is named. Then you explore the exhibits, where videos, dioramas and computer graphics come together to illuminate the complexities of a city unique in the annals of human history. Each ancient room has been revamped to showcase a different period, allowing the tempestuous events of 4,000 years to fall perfectly into place in your mind. The windows frame glimpses of modern Jerusalem, and with each doorway you exit, you look down into the citadel’s central courtyard, where archaeologists have unearthed remains dating from the Maccabees to the Middle Ages. The museum also utilizes its unique space for multi-sensory exhibits by leading designers and artists from Israel and abroad, and for memorable private functions.
www.towerofdavid.org.il