Caesarea

 Monday, December 19, 2011
We got up, had breakfast, boarded the bus and drove north along the Mediterranean Coast for about an hour to Caesarea.  Caesarea is an ancient Roman City built at about 30 BC by Herod the Great.  Herod was quite a builder.  He built several cities and had several palaces.  The area did not have a natural harbor, but that didn't stop Herod--he just built his own.  He created a beautiful Roman city right on the water and I'm sure in its time it was a site to behold. 

Our first stop was a theater where we saw a movie that explained the history of the city and had computer graphics to show what it probably looked like.

Next we moved to the theater.  Here Grandma Hales read the story from Acts about Peter coming to Caesarea and baptizing Cornelius.  It was so neat to be able to listen as she read to our group and know that the story we were reading happened right nearby. 

The theater at Caesarea

Kate dancing for us in the theater at Caesarea

 They still hold concerts in this theater.

Grandma Hales in the theater at Caesarea where she read the story in Acts about Peter coming to Caesarea and baptizing Cornelius.

Caesarea was spectacular!  It was one of my favorite stops!  I loved exploring these ancient ruins.  I did not expect to learn so much about Roman history as I did on this trip.  I felt like I got an extra bonus trip to Italy on the side. 

William saw all this water and just had to throw a rock into it.  David had to leave the tour to walk him down to the water to throw his rock in. 

The water was so beautiful.  If you haven't noticed yet, I have a slight obsession with water and beaches.  I think I could have been really happy being one of Herod's daughters and living in a palace right here on the Mediterranean.  Even in December, the weather was quite pleasant.  And the water...did I mention how beautiful it was?

However, the demise of Caesarea was earthquakes, so maybe it was good I didn't live there after all. 

Remains of Herod's Palace at Caesarea

 We got to go down to beach for a few minutes.  We collected rocks and shells to bring home.

 William finally got to throw rocks in the water.

We also visited the amphitheater where they had chariot races.  William played in the sand on the track. 

Beautiful Caesarea on the Mediterranean

Our last stop was the aquaduct that was used to bring water from a spring into Ceasarea.  Even though the spot Herod picked for his city had no water, he fixed that too.  This aquaduct was several miles long when it was in use. 

 Beautiful!