The Village of Silwan
Outside the walls of the Old City are the foundations of still older habitations. When pieced together, with their holy sites and ancient foundations, Silwan and the other neighborhoods outside the walls make up Jerusalem. In Arabic, Silwan means tranquility, peace of mind, stability and comfort.
 Silwan in days past |
Silwan is an integral part of Jerusalem, located in a valley and on hills outside the southern walls of the Old City. Its population is around 50,000 people, more than 60% of those are below the age of 20. Silwan's character is unique in that the old homes are built on steep cliffs. Silwan was built on the first City of Jerusalem - Yabous, the old Canaanite city that David conquered. Silwan has a perennial spring, Ein Silwan, originating far beneath the Kidron Valley - it wells up in Birket Al-Hamra. When David conquered the city, he was able to do so in part by cutting the water supply, accessing it from the spring's tunnels which exist to this day, and forcing the Canaanites to surrender. The abundance of water wells made Silwan at one stage the vegetable basket of Jerusalem, in addition, Silwan is famous for its fig tree orchards. Important archeological discoveries in Silwan were made by British archeologist Kathleen Kenyon, who conducted extensive excavations in this part of Jerusalem from 1961 to 1967.
 Silwan nowadays |
Highlights of a tour of Silwan should include a walk through the tunnels and a meander through the Kidron Valley, stopping at the first century B.C. tomb of Absalom (Tantour Firaoun) and the Tomb of Zachariah, associated with Saint James. Roman, Byzantine and Islamic excavations abound in and around the southern neighborhood of Jerusalem, the beautiful Silwan.