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Is situated on the west side of the city, near the Jaffa
gate, not far from Mount Zion, wherefore it is universally supposed to be the
Tower of David, Migdal David מגדל דוד;
the Fort of David, Mezudath David מצודת
דוד; or the City of David, Ir David עיר
דוד; which is nevertheless an error, as I have said already
that the Tower of David must have been situated not far from the Siloah spring.
The Kallai is a strong castle, with a deep ditch and strong towers, and is
situated on the highest elevation in the city. The stones in the foundation wall
do indeed denote a most ancient structure; but the superstructure is evidently
far more modern, and could not have been erected before the European princes
came into the Holy Land and conquered it, as I shall more fully discuss in the
historical part of this work. There are documents which state that this fort was
built by men of Pisa, in Italy, who passed into Palestine in 4999 (1239). It appears to me that the ancient foundation walls of this structure are the
remains "of the house of the heroes" בית
הגבורים of Nehemiah 3:16, or of the "corner of the armory
house" המקצוע
עלות הנשק of ibid. 19.
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