May 22, 2019 First day in Israel. Part 2
Dear Family and Friends,
I’m running on used up energy but want to share with you the sights of today. Arriving at 10:30 am we had a surprised trip to Caesarea Maritime (or Caesarea by the Sea) a 165 acre complex built by Herod the Great between 22-10 BC. This was on our schedule for tomorrow but we took the tour today. I’m including photos taken at this site along the Mediterranean Sea. This visit included the palace, Roman style 4000 seat theater, an even bigger hippodrome for the ancient form of NASCAR racing in horse drawn chariots. This was the capital of Pontius Pilate, Felix, and Festus and the site of many executions of Jews and Christians.
(Six tries last night, three this morning to upload photos. Will try to edit tonight)
Caesarea Maritime was the home or Cornelius, the place of imprisonment of Paul for two years.
South of the original city are the ruins of a Crusader Castle form the 1100’s.
I’m including some photos of the aqua duct built by Herod to bring fresh water from Mount Carmel to Caesarea.
Such a beautiful site and a moving experience for all us us.
Weather has turned summer…the bus said that it was 38 degrees C and it may have gotten even hotter. Tonight it is pleasant outside but AC in the building means you need a sweater.
We are staying in Netanya overlooking the Mediterranean. This is a town built on a very high cliff. We could see the beach from our window and began a trip down to the beach before dinner. Halfway down we looked up and realized we still had along way to go. The distance to the beach was deceiving from our 5th story room.
It is now 9:20 PM here on May 22 and I have had only 4 hours of sleep since evening of May 20th, Wake up call is at 6:00 am so I will close for now.
Ellen and Linda
Ellen’s Travel Journal 2016-2025 