Longest Suspension Bridge In Israel, Over Valley Of Hinom To Mt. Zion, Inaugurated Sunday

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — The longest suspension bridge in Israel will be inaugurated on Sunday, connecting Jerusalem’s Mount Zion to the Valley of Hinnom, after nine months of construction and a cost of 20 million shekel.

The 202-meter (663 feet) long bridge is expected to be one of the main tourist attractions in the capital and will be open for pedestrians from 6 am to 10 pm daily. From the bridge, visitors will be able to see the natural valley that surrounds the Old City from the south.

Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion said the municipality has invested millions in the development of tourist attractions and invited Israelis and visitors from abroad to visit the bridge.

Before the 1967 Six Day War, the valley was a no man’s land and used mostly as a garbage dump. Efforts have been underway to clean it up in the past 20 years, and clear hiking trails through it.

The valley contains valuable archeological remains from different periods in history, including ancient grave sites and a spring. Among the artifacts found was a stone that archeologists believed was being quarried to be used in the construction of the Holy Temple but was left behind for an unknown reason.

The Valley of Hinnom is first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as part of the border between the tribes of Yehudah and Benjamin (Joshua 15:8). During the late First Temple period, it was the site of the Tophet, where some of the kings of Judah had sacrificed their children by fire (Jeremiah 7:31).Thereafter, it was cursed by Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah 19:2–6). In later Jewish rabbinic literature, Gehinnom became associated with divine punishment, a more severe term than the more neutral term Sheol, the abode of the dead. The King James Version of the Bible translates both with the Anglo-Saxon word “hell”.