Haifa Israel….still more to see!

 First, Al wanted to share his photos from yesterday.. in particular his tunnel photos…  At this point he couldn’t believe I was still in the line…yes, I was in denial that it was really a tunnel!

Even now, I was ahead and starting to realize I’d made a grave error

Before it really got rough!Soon after this I had to duck and walk bent over for a while.

Now to the activities of today!

 

On the way to Cesearea. Interesting sky scrapers and banana farms. Cesearea was built by Herod in the time of 25-13 BCE. 

Our first stop was at the Roman theatre. The area continues to host current concerts and events. 

Outside the theater are some marble antiquities found during excavation.

The marble is carved in such a way as to give the folds a soft, flowing effect.

 Inside the theatre. There was restoration done in the 60’s but not very authentic. The bottom rows where the stones look uneven and rough are the original seats and stones

Incredible stonework to last centuries!

Our guide next to one of many marble sarcophagus found in the area..these were imported from out of the region as there is no marble found in Israel.

Steps worn smooth by time

 Next we walked to the ruins of the bath house. Here you can see amazing marble tiles used for flooring

It was incredible to see the floors that had intricate designs and realized how old they are.

Herod’s house was built on the sea. What is remaining is the form of a pool that would have been inside the villa more marble tiled floors.

An very important stone although this is a plastic recast…this stone has the name Pontious Pilate listed as prefect of the area.  It is the only evidence found with his name engraved in the official capacity that the Bible speaks of. The original stone is in the Israeli national museum. 

Looking onto the bath house at where the water was heated for the baths. Romans were quite the engineers 

Just discovered excavation of a prison where it is believed the disciple Paul was held for two years. 

Another mosaic floor

Happy tourists

View of the Mediterranean 

More of the bath house area. There used to be marble columns that held up a tiled ceiling.

The basement of government offices

The hippodrome where sporting events took place. Herod built this entire city with everything needed.

Seating in the hippodrome

The bank of gravel and garbage behind our guide is how deep with debris the excavations were

Amazing floors! 

Heading out we enter the castle built by the Muslims which was added on over a crusader’s castle…which was probably covering more Roman’s stuff…who knows? It gets confusing to me and at the end of the day I just know Im seeing and touching stuff that is so incredible and special that I don’t care whose history it is!!!!

The gate out of the Park is a crusader built gate

With openings for iron gates and spots to pour hot oil!

A number of columns,cornices, etc found, catalogued and just left to lay… the Cesarea National park is worth a visit! Next we drive through Tel-Aviv on our way to another port- Jaffa

Tel Aviv is the most expensive city in the world to live in currently. Its every bit a modern city.

And at its southern end sits the ancient town of Jaffa with its sea port. 

Another of the 6 clock towers in Israel to celebrate the Sultan’s 25 year reign.

Walking through markets, flea markets and shops on the way to the port

I’ve found all types of interesting doors during this trip!

Viewing the top of the port

Amazing artwork! Reflects on how disconnected we are in life from our earth.. Avocado seed bearing an orange tree….not in the ground.. losing our way

Beautiful Catholic Church in the background

Two happy tourists

The Jaffa port from the hill

At the top of the hill there was this fountain with al 12 astrological signs 

A view in the back ground of the city

The port

A Canadian born sculptor who immigrated to Israel in 1948.He went on to be a world famous sculptor. His most important piece is on the grounds of Tel Aviv University.

The brown door at the bottom states Simon the Tanner’s house. He was also one of the disciples . . This is supposedly where Paul first allowed a gentile to be baptized and become a Christian. Prior to that you had to be Jewish to believe in the divinity of Jesus.

City steps down to the dock

Steep and slipppery

Now today, this port side is the happening place for entertainment, dining and hanging out on the weekend!

Boardwalk

A monk walking up the street

Guess he might be going to the church complex on the hill.

At last its time for the big event….Lunch! ( at 2:30 in the afternoon)

The restaurant “the Old Man and The Sea”

Inside we did indeed get served by the old man and his employees who rapidly made sure we were stuffed with fabulous food. We sat at long tables and for every four persons there was an array of 12 salads (mezze) plus fresh pita bread the size of a flattened basketball! And every time the small plates were emptied new full ones appeared! Plus fresh made lemonade!

Then after we couldn’t possibly eat more, they brought us platters of Kabobs and Chicken skewers with French fries!! For dessert we had small balls of fried dough soaked in honey syrup… no pictures of those as we attacked them feverishly! We tasted so many good things.Pretty much every one took naps on the ride (2 hours through traffic) back to the bus!

It was a great visit to Israel. Those passengers who made it to Jerusalem, Nazareth, or Bethlehem all were happy with their tours and I can see why many people visit here again and again. To bad there continues to be such original and cultural stress in this country as it has a lot to offer the world.

Haifa Israel.. stepping back in time…

Sunrise in the Mediterranean while docking at our port in Haifa. This Northern port is the third largest city in Israel and its busiest port. As with most of Israel, Haifa is full of history and Historic events. Everywhere you look there is a ruin, some stone walls and marble columns.

Our tour today is a look at the Baha`’i gardens, Haifa and Acre ( Acco). 

The above photos are of the skyline of Haifa.  The buildings go right up the hills to Mt. Carmel. 

The tall skyscraper is names “the Sail” and is filled with Israeli government offices. 

As we headed out on our tour, the guide pointed out this sign.. beware wild boar…seems that the population of wild boars has skyrocketed and because no policy can be made because of dissenting opinions, this was the best solution for now.

View of the harbor from the top of the Gardens views of the gardens 

The building at the bottom is not a temple but a mausoleum. There are no Baha’i temples in Israel this is a place of pilgrimage.

The gardens were absolutely gorgeous.  There are pilgrims who come and volunteer to do the upkeep on the gardens. There was no admission today into the garden, nom believers can only enter from the top and go only 9 levels down,while members can start at the bottom and go entirely to the top. 

Looking from the bottom up.

A cannon left by Napoleon graces a round about on our way to Acre and the Crusaders castle.

The entrance patio to the castle 

The Hospitaller Fortress ( Crusaders) was built to house pilgrims heading to the holy land in the 12th century. The Knights of the Hospitallers were a  military monastic order managing hospitals and housing pilgrims surfing their journeys.  The fortress eventually fell into the hands of the Muslims until they were again defeated and the fortress returned to the knight’s hands.  Akko (Acre) became a very active port. At some time, as with most antiquities, everything changed hands again and with conquering Muslims again the entire building was filled with dirt and debri and became lost. Another Castle with a prison was built on the land( not knowing there was anything underneath) . When a group of prisoners in the castle tried to escape, the dug into the ground and found a space…the rest is history..

The dark square in the ceiling is where the prisoners broke through.    

Imagine these rooms filled with dirt!

Old city walls

Walking around the old city

Excavation

Roads are bumpy and uneven, but really quite nice!

After the crusader’s castle we walked by the area mosque ..the green gazebo thing outside is to provide water for all who need it (although not working any longer)

All the mosques have green tops on them..green is the color of life. Around the corner was the market. A walk though gave us a nice view of what’s offered!

Looks yummy!

The Acre port

One of 6 clock towers built in Israel by Ottoman Sultan 

Abdul Hamid II to celebrate his 25 years of rule. 

The port is mostly used for recreation now as Haifa Port is more active now.

Overlooking the port

Walking through the city.  In the past, when there were secret ways to get through the city to prevent violence by one group or another.. The tunnels ran under the market and our next adventure was to walk through them. By now, I was too far along to back out..I miscalculated the “tunnel” thinking we’d already been through underground levels….so…down I went and panic attack came with me!

At this point I was fully panicked and almost pushed everyone ahead of me out of the way to get to the light!  In the end, after much panic, I made it out and had tears from adrenaline overload… But I MADE IT!

After our tour, we headed back ago our ship. Al and Steve headed back out to find a place to play pool ( they try to find somewhere in every port city) Tonight we relax and tomorrow we have a 10 hour tour.