Me in Caesarea

Israel 2019 – Day 7, Let’s Avoid More Missiles Today

November 13, 2019

Apparently yesterday’s missiles ended at some point, and a cease fire occurred overnight. But the jihadists started firing some more in the morning.

We intended to go down to Masada and the Dead Sea today. But because of having to drive around the West Bank, the route would have put us uncomfortably close to where they were shooting missiles from in the Gaza Strip. 

Yeah…so…the backup plan was to head back up north to avoid any missiles.

Caesarea

The city of Caesarea lies about halfway between Tel Aviv and Haifa. TJ have been here multiple times before, and they figured it would be cool to show me.

As I learned from visiting the onsite museum, Caesarea was a major port city built by King Herod to impress the Romans. At the height of his reign, Caesarea featured a hippodrome, a Roman temple, his palace, amphitheater, and a cutting-edge-for-its time harbor.

Caesarea Harbor, Gateway to the West
If you can imagine structures surrounding this bay and 100’s of ships

But over the years, Caesarea fell under the rule of the Byzantines, Crusaders and Muslims. You can still experience all of their influences on the site.

These days, you can walk the ruins of old Caesarea. There are shops, restaurants, and even diving opportunities in the old harbor. TJ and I spent a while here because the grounds are rather big.

We finished off our visit with lunch at one of the restaurants on site. It was delicious, and it overlooked into the old harbor.

Hummus!
This was a really good hummus appetizer

Bird Mosaic Mansion and Aqueduct

On our way out, TJ wanted to show me the main Roman aqueduct near the ruins of old Caesarea. We missed a turn, but saw signs for a “bird mosaic”.

When we climbed up a small hill to see what this “bird mosaic” was, it turned out to be the ruins of an old mansion with a largely preserved floor full of bird mosaic images. Pretty cool.

Bird Mosaic Mansion
Kind of crazy…

Once we read about it on the sign and took some pictures, we went over to the aqueduct.

Of course, everyone knows that the ancient Roman empire was good at making aqueducts to transport water. And I found it to be cool that even here in Israel, they have done the same.

I joked to myself, “why travel alllll the way to Italy to experience Roman aqueducts when you can go to Israel???” Haha.

Me and Aqueduct
Obviously I’m laughing at my own joke

We didn’t stick around at the aqueduct for too long. I did make a mental note that this particular aqueduct ends at a pretty nice beach so I think a future road/beach trip is necessary in Caesarea.

Stella Maris Monastery

After visiting Caesarea, we headed further north to Haifa. The goal was to go visit the Stella Maris Monastery.

Now, Haifa is in the vicinity of the foot of Mt. Carmel. And Mt. Carmel is famous for St. Simon Stock, the Carmelite religious order, and the brown scapular.

Stella Maris Monastery belongs to a Discalced Carmelite order, and is considered as the focal point for Carmelite spirituality throughout the world. It is located on a tall hill in Haifa.

Dome of Stella Maris Monastery
It was easier to point my iPhone up at the ceiling and not awkwardly take pictures of everyone currently in the church :-X

We parked and visited the monastery mid-afternoon. A Spanish tour group arrived at about the same time we did, and they occupied the church when we went in. We spent some time praying in the church.

I haven’t confirmed this completely, but inside the church is a cave-looking area underneath the altar. In the Old Testament, Elijah is said to have taken shelter in a cave, and supposedly this is that cave.

After visiting the church, we walked around on the outside to the different overlooks looking over Haifa and the Mediterranean Sea. Beautiful scenes, and we were there around sunset. I wish I had taken more pictures!

Sunset in Haifa
Hard to beat that (but obviously the picture doesn’t do it justice)

When the sun set, we headed back home.

Current Stats

Total Cost So Far = $548.60 (+$36)

  • Lunch was about $29 at Hazalbanim restaurant at Caesarea
  • Bought a few things at Caesarea gift shop for about $7

Thoughts

Going through some of the museum and video presentations at Caesarea really illustrated how the Holy Land has a complicated history because of all the different empires and peoples that have settled here. I know initial thoughts of the Holy Land usually connotes the Jewish and Christian heritage it has. So, it was cool seeing how the different empires affect the same place in Caesarea.

Does history or religious significance interest you more for pilgrimages?

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