Jerusalem: Hezekiah's Pool

This pool, just north of Jaffa Gate, on the west side of the Old City of Jerusalem, is one of several large reservoirs constructed to provide water for the expanding population of Jerusalem during the reign of King Herod the Great (37-4 BCE). It and other reservoirs were fed by aqueducts that brought fresh water to Jerusalem from as far away as 12 miles to the south. Note the black dome of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the background and the tower and buildings of the Hebrew University campus on Mount Scopus in the far background.