Sultan's Pool

Yemin Moshe, with Birket es-Sultan in foreground, 1920s

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. Its origins 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]

Currently it is dry in summer and used for concerts and festivals.[4]

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References

Coordinates: 31°46.310′N 35°13.585′E / 31.771833°N 35.226417°E / 31.771833; 35.226417

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