Ceasarea

On Thursday we spent the morning in the office. In the afternoon, we drove to Ceasarea which is about an hour north of Tel Aviv. Ceasarea is probably most famous among Christians for the travels of Paul and his time spent emprisoned there.



Ceasarea was built by King Herod (same guy that built the temple for the Jews and killed all the babies in Bethlehem after Jesus was born there). I think it was dedicated in about 9 A.D. It was kind of a playground for the rich. Interestingly, Ceasarea is still considered a playground for the rich of Israel with some of the most expensive properties surrounding the ancient city.

One of the most impressive things in Ceasarea is the mosaics that stil remain very well intact. This was my favorite (even though there's a thin layer of dust covering it). If you look close you'll see a dog and a duck and some other creatures and objects.





These are some marble pillars that surround one of the several bath houses.

This is Herod's hippodrome. It's basically a giant chariot race course and gladiator battlefield. The structure jutting out in the left side of the field wasn't there originally so the track was more round with the pathway in the middle.


This was the most interesting thing to me. It's an amphitheatre that was built by Herod. Look familiar? It is very similar to stadiums today.

And you'll also notice that this 2000 year old amphitheatre is still used for concerts! It is 'the place to play' in Israel. You haven't made it until you've played here.