Solomon's Pools -- (Continued) -- Jerusalem's 'Swimming Hole'

Solomon's Pools -- (Continued) -- Jerusalem's 'Swimming Hole'

IsraelDailyPicture.com

"Solomon's pools becomes a picnic and swimming resort. Group of bathers"
(Library of Congress)

Some 20 years ago, Tel Aviv's Mayor Shlomo Lahat "gave" one of his beaches to Jerusalem's mayor Teddy Kollek.  Ostensibly, "Jerusalem Beach" is the closest beach to Jerusalem and those citizens who want to drive the 40 kilometers to swim and splash.

But Jerusalem has had huge swimming pools nearby for 2,000 years, and the photographers of the American Colony filmed the Jerusalem residents who flocked to Solomon's Pools in the 1940s.

Solomon's Pools -- Picnic and Swimming Resort
 and here (circa 1940, Library of Congress)



Cars arriving from Jerusalem and concession stand
(Library of Congress)

 

From 1948 until 1967 the area was occupied by Jordan, and Israelis could not travel to Solomon's Pools.  The area, of course, was open to local Arab residents.

After the 1967 War, the area was reopened and Jerusalemites and residents of the local Jewish communities would visit the pools for picnics and to swim.  

 After the Oslo Agreements, Solomon's Pools were granted to the Palestinian Authority.  Since the mid-1990s, Jewish groups have been able to visit only with special permission and escort by Israel's army.  Foreign tourists can reach the site without restrictions from Palestinian-controlled Bethlehem.

Recommended reading (in Hebrew) סיפורן של אמות המים לירושלים  The Story of the Water Supply to Jerusalem from "All About Jerusalem," Israeli Tour Guide Course.  Photographs by Tamar Hayardeni and Ron Peled whose comments and photos have appeared in these postings in the past.

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The Cliffs in Judea Overlooking Solomon's Pools

The Cliffs in Judea Overlooking Solomon's Pools --
Where Are Those Cliffs Today?

(www.IsraelDailyPicture.com)




Solomon's Pools. The photo is dated between 1860 and 1880. No name is attributed to the photo. The photo and
handwritten caption are similar to photos by Felix Bonfils (1831-1885). The man in the photo may be the same as in
this photo from the Western Wall, perhaps even a photo of Bonfils himself.

 


Solomon's Pools in a rare color photo (circa 1905)



The Cliffs. Original caption: "Solomon's Pools and ancient
aqueducts. Dam across Wadi Biyar al-Bir ed-Darraj"
(circa 1936)

 

Early photographers in the Holy Land were enchanted by "Solomon's Pools," an elaborate water system from the Maccabean or Roman times located between Bethlehem and Hebron that brought water all the way to the Temple in Jerusalem.

Dozens of pictures of the pools can be found in the Library of Congress archives, such as these photos.

The American Colony's photo collection (1898-1946) includes a picture of cliffs near Solomon's Pools.

 

The cliffs beneath the Zayit neighborhood of Efrat

Here are pictures of the cliffs today. They are situated beneath the northern tip of the town of Efrat and its Zayit neighborhood. Efrat was established in 1983 and is located some eight miles south of Jerusalem.

 The cliffs today as viewed on Google Earth

 

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