Mediterranean Coast

Ruins of Caesarea along the Mediterranean coast. The sandy area in the background was once a chariot racing arena.

We took three separate day trips to visit the cities along the coastline: Caesarea, Haifa and Acre.

Caesarea
Caesarea is a gorgeous set of ruins along the Mediterranean coast commissioned by Herod the Great (we heard a lot about him on our trip). It originally had a lengthy manmade port (the first one made out of concrete pilings) but only part of it remains. The extensive ruins included:

• A large public bathhouse
• A large racing arena for chariot races
• An ampitheater
• An aquaduct

We also enjoyed a memorable meal of shislick (Lebanese roasted meats) with a lovely view of the coastline. The mixture of the beautiful coastline and extensive ruins made this one of the most memorable sites of the trip.
The drive to Caesarea went by Mt. Tabor (halfway between Galilee and the coast). This is thought to be the Mount of Transfiguration.

Haifa
The next day we drove to Haifa, also on the Mediterranean Coast, north of Caesarea. The highlight of the day—and, as it turned out for Andrew—was taking cable cars from the top of Mount Carmel (of priests of Baal fame) down to its base. From there we visited the traditional site of Elijah’s cave where he hid from the priests. This is a worship place for Jews.

The highlight of Haifa for Andrew was the cable car we took the top of Mount Carmel to Elijah's Cave at the base.

We also saw the Bahai Gardens. Haifa is the center of the Bahai faith. They have a large site there (members only) with gardens open to the public. The gardens are up on a hill overlooking the port. Driving into Haifa to the Bahai Gardens was one of those stressful experiences that involved lots of traffic and exits, getting entirely lost, but then finding ourselves lost at the entrance to the place we were looking for.

Akko
Also in northern Israel, just north of Haifa on the coast is Akko or Acre. This was a set of well-preserved and excavated Crusader ruins. This is where the Knights Hospitaller made their capital during the Crusades. Among the highlights were walking through two tunnels—one made by the Knights Templar and watching teens jump from the cities walls into the bay. The walled city still has a hole in it where Napolean’s army breaches its walls.

Some teens jump from the top of this Crusader-period walled city into the port of Akko.