Caesarea

This morning I visited Caesarea. A bit lame , I know. I've not been feeling all that great and did not want to stray too far from base. I still have a splitting head and not so good stomach, so I will just post the pictures in the mean time and fill in the words when I feel better. Even though I have been there many time, Caesarea is still a great place to walk around. It must be because there were thousands of tourists there as well.

It's now tomorrow and I'm feeling a lot better. Caesarea has a rich history, originally established as a Phoenician city during the Persian Era (586-332 BCE). It was later annexed by the Hashmonean Kingdon and eventually awarded to Herod (37-4 BCE) in 30 BCE. Herod was quite the builder and he spent 12 years and much money making a place of beauty. By 6 BCE it became the headquarters of the Roman government in the province of Palestine.

I remember reading of two interesting facts about Caesarea. Firstly, it was a place where Jews and Gentiles live together - conflict between the two groups started here in 66 CE led eventually to the Great Revolt, the fall of the second temple in 70CE and Masada in 73 CE. Secondly the Romans used hydraulic concrete (that set underwater) to create the harbour. This was quite a fete of engineering and parts of this harbour are still visible today.

O.K. So I like windows in arches. I have hundreds of pictures of these from all the various sites I have been to.
Seems that they are using the lawn in front of the restaurants for concerts these days. Nice backdrop - I have no idea who is performing here.
I have never seen so many fishermen in once place. I saw no one catch anything. This is on the breakwater that encloses the harbour.
Nice arches.
More nice arches.
There are also many nice mosaics. I like this one in particular.
The Romans liked their marble.
This is the hippodrome where they held chariot races. It is nicely restored and you can close your eyes and hear the horses thundering by - or maybe that was just my upset stomach.
I love this amphitheater. When I was young and a concert goer, I saw many excellent concerts here, including Dylan and Clapton and the Bolshoi Ballet. The seats are really hard, so rent a pillow and don't minge.
Summer is here. The lizards are out sunning themselves.

I like Caesarea, always have. It's near home, on the sea, huge and well preserved. No matter how many times I have been there I have yet to really explore the whole place.