The Tower of David is part of an ancient citadel located at the Jaffa Gate, west of the Old City. It is now home to the Jerusalem History Museum.
The tower has a very indirect relation to the biblical King David, the founder of ancient Israel (10th century B.C.) - the fortress at the highest point of the city was erected by the kings of the Hasmonean dynasty only in the 2nd century B.C. After the Hasmoneans came to power King Herod the Great, who in 37-34 B.C. added three powerful towers to the citadel. He named them after loved ones: "Phasael" in honour of his suicidal brother, "Miriam" in memory of his second wife whom he had killed himself, and "Hippicus" in honour of a friend. Countless sieges and destruction of subsequent eras survived only the highest tower, "Fasail" - its lower part is called today the Tower of David.
This name seems to date back to Byzantine times: Eastern Christians believed that it was on the Western Hill, 773 metres high, that the palace of King David was once located. The Arabs, having conquered Jerusalem in 638, fortified the citadel so that the Crusaders were unable to take it by storm in 1099. However, it was taken in 1187 by the great warrior Saladin. It was destroyed and rebuilt in the XIII century by the Mamluks, and for four hundred years it was garrisoned by the Ottoman Turks. They added a minaret to the tower, which still towers over the city today.
In World War I, when British troops occupied Jerusalem, it was at the entrance to the Tower of David that the British commander General Allenby solemnly accepted the surrender. Between the world wars it was home to a museum of Palestinian folklore. After the Arab-Israeli war of 1948-49, the fortress returned to its military role for a while: the Jordanian Arab Legion was based there. Only after Israel's victory in the 1967 Six-Day War did the citadel become a peaceful object: since 1989 it has been home to the Museum of Jerusalem History.
The museum's exposition allows you to visualise how Jerusalem has grown and developed over forty centuries. This process is clearly illustrated by excellent three-dimensional models of the city, videos and holograms. Part of the exposition is the inner courtyard of the museum - an archaeological park with ruins up to 2700 years old. Visitors have the opportunity to climb the fortress wall, from which they can view the whole of Jerusalem, including the Old City.
The Tower of David is a traditional venue for city festivals, craft fairs and concerts. It regularly hosts an impressive laser show: staged episodes from the centuries-old history of Jerusalem are projected onto the walls of the citadel to authentic music. The show is organised after sunset, and tourists should bring warm jumpers, as Jerusalem can be cold at night.
