Must see in Jerusalem: Kotel Tunnel Tour

After not having been on a plane since January 2020, we took a trip to Israel this past month. If you're planning on your own visit soon, I highly recommend you book yourself a Kotel tunnel tour. 

We took one a few years back, but with new discoveries related to the bridge, a new one called The Great Bridge Route has been added. While there was some overlap between this one and the one we saw in theon a previous trip, it's well worth the cost of admission of 38 shekels per adult (payable via credit card, as most things in Israel are). 

The Kotel tunnel tours are among the few attractions outside of food that are open after 5 PM. However, these tours do get filled up, so  I highly recommend you book in advance. 

Here are some photos I took on our tour:

These are the stones that were thrown down from in an act o fdestruction that also preserved what was underneath

                    Herodian stones from the Second Temple turned into seating 

Notice that the stone above the opening is crooked. That's the result of an earthquake.

There's a recently built shul within the the structure that you enter for the tunnel tour. I remember seeing this Aron Kodesh  design on the last tour. The guide explained that while most people take it for a pomegranate, the artist intended the round shape to represent our planet with the top serving as a refernece to the burning bush.

One suggestion for an attraction you can add on while you're in the vicinity of the Kotel is the 

Museum of Underground Prisoners – Jerusalem. It's on the same train stop as the Kotel. The cost for that was 20 shekels per person. That was the only place for which we needed the cash, as the credit card machine was broken.

 

 When we came, a Hebrew tour was in progress, and we joined to watch the film in Hebrew. They do have an English version, but we didn't arrange to come back for it. A lot of the exhibits do not have English descriptions at all, so don't expect it to be completely accessible in terms of language. 

The site description makes it seem like you always get a tour, but we didn't get one other than some quick words from the guide of the group in Hebrew. You're mostly on your own with a slim  paper guide that includes some information and a map.

This place is more about authenticity (it includes a room with gallows) than modern interactivity.  But it's worth seeing to realize what happened in the clash between the Jews and the Brits who controlled Israel then, which likely accounts for a lot of hostility that persists on the British side.

It's also worth seeing to see the tribute to Rabbi Aryeh Levin who was known as the "Father of the
Prisoners." He kept that role even for the nonobservant. There were clearly some observant Jews among the prisoners, though, as there is a kitchen you can see that had separeate sections for meat and dairy. 

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