Caesarea, Akko, Haifa, Safed

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We awoke early from a very resting sleep, and headed out for breakfast, consisting of large amounts of scrambled eggs, potatoes, pastries, orange juice, and coffee. Once finished, we drove along the coast of Israel, taking in the gorgeous Mediterranean sights and talking with our guide about various political issues facing Israel today.

Our first stop was Caesarea, an ancient Roman town built by King Herod about 2,000 years ago, at the time Jesus Christ lived. We learned that Herod was not of the Royal Family, but wanted to be in power, so he went to Rome. There, he talked the Roman elite into placing him as King of Palestine. When he got back to his homeland, however, the native people, the Jews, did not accept him because he wasn’t of the Royal Family. His solution? To murder the entire family, with the exception of a girl called Miriam, whom he married. Herod wanted to be remembered forever, so he built many beautiful temples, palaces, and cities, of which Caesarea is one.

First, we entered the Roman theater through a doorway called the vomitorium (lovely name, huh?), into the theater seats. The seats there can hold up to 4,000 people. The seats look down on the original marble stage, where many plays took place, which was later converted to a closed system that could hold several feet of water, where ostensibly a number of naked women danced around. We then excited the stage and examined a number of stone columns, clearly showing the differences between the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian columns (they get more ornate in that order). There was also an interesting and large lizard sitting one an old sarcophagus. We examined an old palace, used by Herod, and built by Pontius Pilate in honor of the Emperor Caesar. This is the only actual proof that Pontius Pilate actually existed. It featured internal gardens and a luxury saltwater swimming pool.

We saw an amazing Hippodrome, the place where chariots were raced, which was later converted to a coliseum, where slaves were forced to fight wild animals. After the Hippodrome, we saw the artificial harbor that Herod had built with Roman funds for his city. The Mediterranean splashing against the rocks was a brilliant aquamarine. We turned slightly inland and examined the Temple, now just a mountain of ruins. We were able to see a little more detail further back, where we could more easily distinguish rooms. Finally, as we were leaving, we saw the old aqueduct, which transported water 3 miles to the city. Most of it still stands today, a beautiful 8 foot tall construction of arches and sandstone.

Next, we drove up through Haifa, seeing the Baha’i Shrine and shrine gardens. There are 19 terraces of the gardens, with beautiful marble structures and lush stands of grasses, flowers, bushes, and trees.

We drove on to Akko, the old Crusader city of Acre. We started the explorations by going down into some tunnels discovered in 1992, which could supposedly be used by the Crusaders to escape should the forts be captured. The tunnels also have natural freshwater springs, so were also used for water transport. We moved on through the streets, getting the opportunity to see the harbors and the some old structures. Then, the coolest part. We toured a Hospitaller castle, which was originally buried by the Muslims after they captured the city, and was only found recently, in the later 80’s. The entire 2-3 story castle was buried, and a prison was put on top. When it was discovered, they destroyed the prison, and dug down to it. Now, we can walk all the way through it, seeing the great hall, dining halls, and moat.

We went on to Safed, a town renowned for spirituality and art. It is a center of the Kabbalah, and has a number of art studios. We stopped and had a latte, and then looked through a number of shops, and saw a traditional synagogue with a number of Orthodox Jews praying. We left, and traveled onward.

From Safed, we drove on towards our hotel, and, in the dark, got there and crashed. We pretty much dumped our stuff down and fell asleep.

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