A Trip to Israel: Caesarea, Jezreel Valley, Mount Precipice

After yesterday's whirlwind explorations, we relaxed a little bit today. Today is Sunday, but locally it's just another day;  the Sabbath was yesterday.

This is a typical breakfast: grilled vegetables, a salad, a little grapefruit, a pastry (that tastes stale), some cheesecake-y treat, and (up in the left corner) yogurt. The salads and grilled veggies are recycled from yesterday, and always very good, but I never got used to have salad and desserts at breakfast. However, you will note that didn't stop me from taking them.

We travelled to the ancient city of Caesarea.

This was a city built between 25-13 BC by Herod the Great. It's prime real estate, right on the Mediterranean coast. 

Caesarea includes a hippodrome for chariot racing, 

complete with restored seating.

Caesarea offers a lovely ocean view, and would have been a place only the wealthy could afford. 

With its ocean view, it's a great place to stick a palace,

or a military lookout. 

This is the place of the administrative capitol, beginning in 6 AD.

Caesaria is the place where Peter baptized the first Gentile, the centurion Cornelius.

Herod was apparently not satisfied with the vast ocean view, and built decorative pool.  These men are covering the area with a kind of plaster to protect things until they can be properly excavated.

This is the remains of the actual pool.

We moved on to the amphitheatre of Caesarea, carefully restored.

There are still a number of fallen columns (how in the world did these ancient people build these?),

and a stone coffin. Coffins like this were used by many different groups, including Jews, but this one is likely Roman Byzantine.

Various styles of column tops called capitals, were displayed on wooden columns so you could appreciate the way they looked.

This place must have been stunning in its day--it's pretty impressive now.

The theatre was used for speeches, plays, dance and musical productions, and just about any other thing that require the fabulous acoustics found here.

The exits were called vomitoriums because of the steady stream of people leaving at the end of a show.

Impressive architecture. 

These stadium seats are a near copy of the sports arenas of today, complete with modern safety railing.

We moved on to the ancient Roman aqueducts.

and the Moody Mediterranean Sea.

We even took off our shoes and 

dipped our toes in the water.

Amazing to think how long these have been standing.

Proof (through the bus window) that McDonald's has corrupted even Israel.

Our next stop was a monastery.

This is the place Elijah invited the priests of Baal to try and top him. The priests tried all day to call down fire to consume the sacrificial bull, but just couldn't get it done.

          At the end of the day, Elijah wet everything down, called on the Lord, and BAM! He wins. 

Have I mentioned how many cats we saw in Israel? Gazillions. I think I saw two dogs the entire trip.

I also spotted a slightly eccentric lady.

From the roof of the monastery, we had an incredible view of  the Jezreel Valley, the place of the good vs evil battle of Armageddon is prophesied to take place before the Second Coming.

We stopped for lunch. Recognize this?

Yep, it's this familiar brand.

The city of Nazareth.

Our final stop for the day was the Mount Precipice, that place Jesus jumped from the mountain to avoid his enemies. I got a kick from the explanation above. Note it says "fleeting" instead of "fleeing".  I'm guessing Christ's escape was a fleet flee, because according to scripture, no one saw him.

I don't remember what this picture shows. Was it the night we took a boat into the Sea of Galilee to experience the feeling of the apostles as they see Christ walk to them across the water or is it the Mediterranean Sea?  Whatever body of water this is, it is representative of the quiet peace of the area.