Day 2 of sightseeing

The following day I booked a tour along the coast of Israel northward to the border with Lebanon.  This tour included a visit to Caesarea, the ancient port city built by Herod the Great to honor Augustus Caesar.  The amphitheater was still there and in use today for plays and other events.  The hippodrome, where chariot races took place and gladiators fought to the death, was also visible.  At the location where Herod’s palace stood, there were stones from the remains of the palace lying around with Latin inscriptions on them.  On one column was the name Pontius Pilate, showing that he was  there outside of the Bible.

 

Caesarea’s Amphitheater restored and in use still today

Hippodrome where gladiators fought and chariots raced

Roman carving in stone with the name Pontius Pilate on it
Click on the photos to enlarge them.

From Caesarea we traveled north to Haifa, the largest port in Israel.  From the heights above the city the port was visible as well as the Bahai temple and gardens, remnants left from a religious sect who moved  to Israel escaping persecution in Iran.  Here they built the beautiful temple and flower gardens under which the members of this faith reside.  Haifa was settled by German immigrants so there is a significant German influence in the architecture of this city.

The city of Haifa and the Bahai Temple and gardens

We continued north to the underground Crusader and Turkish city and crypt of Akko, pronounced Acre.  It is amazing that it is so well preserved after all these centuries.

Our trip ended at the border with Lebanon at the Rosh-Hanikra Grottos.  These caverns, created by the waves of the Mediterranean, at one time contained a train tunnel where trains ran between Damascus, Syria and Alexandria, Egypt.  Of course, with the current political situation, the tunnel running between Israel and Lebanon has been sealed shut.

Grottos on the Israel/Lebanon border

Through the fence is Lebanon

We were on the border with Lebanon where there is a large Israeli military presence both onshore and off, including a cable that runs out into the Mediterranean dividing the two countries even there.

This was an interesting trip up the coast.  Having stayed at a hotel in Ashkelon, which is 7 miles north of the Gaza Strip on the southern end of the country, I was able to travel along the coast almost the entire length of this tiny country as well as travel to the eastern borders with Syria and Jordan.  I did not get into the southeastern part of Israel south of the Dead Sea.