Tel Aviv to Haifa with a Stop in Caesarea

Beautiful morning in Tel Aviv.  We walked the block over to the beach. Several people were swimming and quite a few more sunning on the beach.  We then loaded up the car and started out for Haifa.

Caesarea National Park is about half way between Tel Aviv and Haifa - less than an hour from either city.  It has a most interesting history.  It lies along several bays of the Mediteranean and was first settled by the Phoenicians around 500 B.C.  The Greeks founded a settlement in the 3rd century B.C., then it was conquered by the Romans, who awarded it to Herod in 34 B.C.  He re-named it for his patron, Emperor Caesar Augustus, and over the next 12 years built up a sizeable port city which became the headquarters of the Roman government in Palestine.  The city flourished in the Byzentine period, but was conquered by the Arabs in the 7th century and fell into disarray.  It was conquered by the Crusaders in the 12th century and again regained importance until being destroyed by the Mamelukes a hundred years later.  In the late 19th century the Ottomans settled Bosnian refugees at the site, and renovated the Crusader buildings.  There have been extensive archaeological explorations during the last century, with excavation work continuing. It was a very interesting detour on our way to Haifa.

Morning on the Beach, Tel Aviv

Breakwater, Tel Aviv Beach

Walls of Crusader Fortress, Caesarea

Crusader Entry to City

Ruins of Herod's Palace

Herod's Theater

We located our digs in Haifa, a very pleasant apartment hotel with a great balcony overlooking the pedestrian street, and have now settled in for the night.  No MSNBC here so Nick is having to make do with CNN.