Sultan's Pool

The Sultan's Pool (Hebrew: בריכת הסולטאן‎, Brechat HaSultan, Arabic: Birket es-Sultan) is an ancient water basin by the west side of Mount Zion, Jerusalem.

Sultan's pool, Jerusalem
Birket Sultan in 1907

History

The origins of the Sultan's Pool likely date to the time of Herod and some think it is the Snake pool mentioned by Josephus.[1] In Hasmonean times, water was fed into it via the lower aqueduct.[2] The Ottoman sultans (for whom the pool is named) enlarged it into a reservoir measuring 67 m × 169 m × 12 m. It was part of the water supply network for Jerusalem from antiquity to late Ottoman Empire times. During the Crusaders times, it was known as Lacus Germani.[3]

The Sultan's Pool is dry in summer and is used for concerts and festivals.[4]

References
  1. "Sultan's pool". 2011-01-20.
  2. "An Archaeological Excavation in Jerusalem Has Revealed:This is How They Filled The Sultan's Pool With Water". 2009-06-16. Retrieved 2012-04-25.
  3. BIBLICAL RESEARCH. THE "LOWER POOL," JERUSALEM, The Independent, Volume 51, Issue 1, 1899
  4. "Go Jerusalem: The Sultan's pool".

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