Inside an ancient wall in Jerusalem that survived since the Middle Ages, stands the Tower of David Jerusalem Museum, which houses the history of one of the world's holiest sites.
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These days, the museum is under renovation in preparation for a grand reopening. After an investment of $50 million, it will open its gates to the public on June 1, and present visitors with major changes that tell the story of Jerusalem in a fascinating, exciting, educational, and interactive manner.
When I share how excited the museum's tour made me with Eilat Liber, the Museum's head and Chief Curator, she smiles victoriously. "Well, it was worth it, and you're not alone," she says.
"I hear the same from many people who don't have a connection to Jerusalem, the tour here affects them. Connection to a certain place is fueled by all the experiences we've had in it and visiting us is definitely a mending experience for many who didn't care much for Jerusalem."
"Jerusalem is a vibrant city that has been in conflict for years, undergoing demographic changes, and those who leave it don't usually go spreading our graces," she says.
My visit didn't connect me to modern-day Jerusalem, but rather to the feeling Jerusalem had and is having on the people who had lived in it for centuries.
"Exactly," Liber says. "We know that Jerusalem had a past and a future, and we have respect for it and all its layers, both the layers of time and layers of people, religions, demographic, and architectural," she says.
"And that is precisely our role, to be the 'city's museum,' and to tell its story. And it's not just any city. It is a city that has deep meaning, and an endless wealth of dimensions that go back thousands of years," she says.
"No other city in the world has an active and daily routine that has existed for thousands of years," Liber says. "There's no other city in the world where its past has such a significant influence on its present and future. Here, the past, which we see in the museum through its different exhibits, seeps into the streets of our modern times."
The Tower of David, where the museum is located, is a magnificent complex of architectural representations from all historical periods of the city.
From its towers and walls from the Hellenistic period, through the monumental Herodian tower, Byzantine construction, ancient Muslim round tower, walls from the Crusader era, late Muslim structures, and a central Ottoman courtyard.
From the Greeks to the Romans, the Muslims, the Christians, and of course, the Jews—each ruled this city at one stage or another throughout its history, deepening its sanctity and importance while fighting and dying for it.
6 View gallery
Original film shown in the museum presenting Jerusalem's history
(Photo: Oded Antman)
The Museum tells Jerusalem's story using modern technology, fit for the digital era. For example, you can find a hologram made by Ari Folman, the creator of the awards winner animated film, "Waltz with Bashir," which depicts various historical periods of the city through comic strips.
Interactive touch screens display the city's map throughout the ages, including the monuments that have changed over the years. In addition, there are models of iconic buildings in Jerusalem that seem to come to life before the visitors' eyes.
The Museum's unique exhibits include an interactive wall that presents events spanning 4,000 years of Jerusalem's history alongside other important global events. It was developed in collaboration with Jake Barton, the founder of "LOCAL PROJECTS" company in New York, which also created the "September 11 Memorial & Museum."
Another exhibit presents an interactive globe where visitors mark their country of origin, which will then show the distance from the selected country to Jerusalem. A transparent and illuminated model of the Temple Mount from the period of the Second Temple, was printed using a 3D printer.
Another noteworthy matter is the joint effort of the Antiquities Authority's Conservation Department and the Municipality of Jerusalem, which transformed the medieval fortress housing the museum into an accessible structure for visitors with special needs. The museum received the Israel Accessibility Award 2023 and an international accessibility award in Vienna for the project.
The museum tour revolves around three main focal points: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In each space, visitors learn about the city and its history through three areas of knowledge: figures, ethos, and place.
The figure can be Jesus, Muhammad, or King David, for example, and the ethos represents the characteristic of each of them, while the place remains Jerusalem.
"Alongside interactive screens that provide immersion into the different periods of Jerusalem, we also display authentic artifacts preserved in the city throughout its history to show that life has always existed here," says Liber.
"For example, official seals from the First Temple period with names written in Hebrew. In the world we live in today, it's important to see something genuine," Liber explains, drawing attention to various items that belonged to the Roman garrison that was stationed here under Titus.
"If we jump hundreds of years forward, we have a letter from David Ben-Gurion sent to a child during Israel's War of Independence, where he assures him that everything will be okay in the end.
We move from the dedicated section on Jewish life in Jerusalem to the one that presents the story of Islam in the city, located within a building that was once a mosque 800 years ago and served as a military fortress under Jordanian rule until 1967.
The museum also received a new name: the "Tower of David Museum of Jerusalem," with the support of the Clore Israel Foundation, the Patrick and Lina Drahi Foundation, the Municipality of Jerusalem, the Tourism Ministry, and the Jerusalem and Heritage Ministry.
The museum also teaches about the city's processes of sanctification through the centuries with the help of three galleries. "One gallery presents a thousand years of Judaism, focusing on its two Temples, starting with King David's decision to make Jerusalem the capital instead of Hebron."
Leiber directs us to a well-lit model of the Second Temple, and we're immersed in the animated films telling the story of Jerusalem, created by contemporary artists such as Folman, David Polonsky, Lena Guberman, and others.
"We also want the story of Jerusalem to speak to the younger generation, and so included the films alongside the 3D models and archeological evidence," Liber explains.
Interactivity is very prominent throughout the museum
"Technology is an excellent tool," she says. It's a contemporary language, and with its help, we enhance the past and make it accessible. For example, there's a giant ancient map of Jerusalem, that when pressed shows unique life-like animations. The children's reactions are amazing."