Caesarea

 

Statue of Augustus' Wife

We left Tel Aviv this morning headed north along the seacoast to Haifa. Today, Israel has a population of 10 million in a country the size of New Jersey. It has one of the highest birth rates among first world countries and soon will be the most densely populated country in the West. All the land is owned by the government and leased by the people. Why? Zionism was a socialist idea, since many of its earliest followers had a Russian heritage. It also removed a lot of problems about ownership between Jews and Moslems. Like many western countries, the health system is provided by the government at a rate or $70/month or lower.

Our primary stop was the ancient city of Caesarea, the world’s first artificial port built by Herod the Great in the 1st century B.C. They filled boxes with volcanic ash and sank the boxes to form the port. Herod the Great was an interesting man. Born of a rich Edomite father, whose ancestors had converted to Judaism, and an Arab princess, he grew up in a Greek/Roman culture. He became king of this region by appointment from Caesar Augustus. He honored Caesar by naming the city Caesarea and erecting a Statue of Augustus and his wife in the center of the port. He also erected a temple for the Roman God’s and built a hippodrome for horse races. The temple was converted to a Byzantine church, then a mosque as control of the city changed over the centuries. All was destroyed after the crusades. Herod also built a Palace here where we can see the remains of his pool. The Roman theater is actively used each year. A key find here was a stone tablet with the words “Pontius Pilate, the prefect of Judea, (erected a building to the Emperor) Tiberius”

Pool of the Herod's Palace

We then climbed into the hills to visit the Druze village of Daliyat al-Karmel. The Druze are a religious sect formed by an Egyptian Iman who broke off his group from Islam. Their communities exist in the mountains of Northern Israel. Syria and Lebanon. The sect has about 2M members, and they only marry within the sect. The men usually where white caps and sport mustaches, the women have a white scarf over a black kaftan. In recent years, almost all are highly educated and even the women can be professionals. We had our lunch at the store of woman owned store, who sells health products such as soaps and lotions that she makes herself.

Druze store owner

Then on to Haifa. We had a photo stop of the Bahai Gardens. The Bahai International Center is in Jaffa and the founder is buried on the 13^th terrace of the gardens. Upon reaching Haifa, we boarded our 89 passenger ship, the Cleo. 

Bahai Gardens