Waking up on day twelve I felt stronger than I had on the previous day. I was glad because I was scheduled to visit Ceasarea, Herod's ancient sea capital and reportedly one of the most fascinating Roman ruins in all of Israel. It, along with the Golan Heights, was one of the reasons I had rented a car, since Ceasarea is accessible by public transportation, but it is not easy or time efficient to get to.
The feature that is most often mention as most impressive about Ceasarea is the harbor that Herod built here. At the time it was built in the first Century BC, it was the largest artificial harbor in the world. Artists rendition's do make for an impressive sight. Today, however, the port area of Ceasarea is less than impressive. Without having seen the rendition of what the site looked like, I'm not sure I would have been able to recognize the significance of this.
The area had also been restored/improved to contain some shops and restaurants, as well as a visitor's center. Mixing the modern in with the ancient like this made it difficult for me to appreciate the historical significance of the harbor part of the site. I read that this part of the part has become popular for festivals and weddings. I'm obviously not a big fan of using ancient historical sites for these purposes, but it seems almost policy for the Israeli National Parks.
Walking South along the coast I walked through what was the main streets of the old Roman city. The dominant feature of this part of the park is the amphitheater which was used for chariot races and various other spectacles.
Just south of the main street/amphitheater area are the ruins of what is believed to be Herod's Promontory Palace. The area also contains a number of impressive mosaics. Further excavations will be needed here to determine what the exact dimensions and uses of this palace where.
Most people consider the Colosseum at Ceasarea to be on of the highlights of the ruins. It is impressive, but the site had been used for a concert the previous night and was full of chairs from that event. While I think it's a unique idea to use these ancient sights for modern concerts, having the chairs in the stadium took away from it's authenticity for me. Combine that with the impressive Roman Colosseum I'd seen at Beit She'an five days earlier, I left this part a little disappointed.
I spent the rest of my time at Ceasarea exploring the main streets of the village area. The building that impressed me most here were the public bath buildings. I was able to conjurer up an image of the opulence that was sure to be found in these buildings during Ceasarea's heyday. Both building were decorated with tile and some cool mosaics, many of which are still visible today.
The most impressive part of Ceasarea to me was not even located at the main sight, it was a 5 minute drive north. The hulking ruins of the old Roman aqueduct run for mile along the beachfront. The two-tiered system brought water from the slopes of Mount Carmel to the town for drinking water, but also brought water from a nearby dam for use in irrigating the fields. The system is an amazing technologically advanced system for the times.
Heading south, I drove to my destination for the next two nights, Israel's largest Metropolis of Tel Aviv. I wasn't actually staying in Tel Aviv, but 2 miles to the south in the 4,000 year old seaside city of Jaffa. Driving into Jaffa looking for my hostel, without the benefit of a good map, was the single most frustrating experience of my entire trip. Not only were the roads poorly marked, many were one way streets and many others were under construction. After driving in circles for close to an hour, I finally located my hotel only to realize that I wasn't going to be able to park near it, since it was in a shopping area full of pedestrians. I finally found a parking garage down the street and was happy to abandon the car there for the next day and a half.
The Jaffa Clocktower
With that as my introduction to Jaffa, I was crabby when I checked into my hostel, and sat in the room for an hour before going out. I had read nothing but great things about Jaffa, but I was positive I was going to hate it. I'm really glad I was wrong. Jaffa is wonderful.
I strode up the hill to the main seaside area, the remnants of the ancient city, with it narrow and twisting walkways.
The hilltop itself provided fantastic views over the modern city of Tel Aviv and it's skyscrapers in the distance.
The area also had some other sights including The Wishing Bridge, where it is said that if a person holds their zodiac sign and faces the sea, the wish they make will be granted. The building in the distance is Jaffa's most famous building, St. Peter's Monastery, built on the site of a 13th Century Crusader castle.
I'd hoped to get some beautiful pictures of sunsets over the Mediterranean, but both nights were overcast and windy. I was disappointed not to get the sunset pictures, but glad to have the windy, pleasant evenings, since it was the first time since I'd arrived that the daytime temperature had been below 90. Instead of sunsets, I took pictures of the surfers who reveled in the perfect surfing conditions provided by the sharp western breeze.
The next morning, day thirteen, I left Jaffa and walked down the beachfront toward Tel Aviv. The morning was cloudy and cool, something I wasn't used to on this trip. (It was still in the 80s) In all my travels in Israel, I never found a place where the residents were early risers, so this meant that I had much of the beachfront promenade to myself. I could tell from looking at the facilities along the walk that on nice days, these beaches had to be packed with people.
I'd intended to make my first stop the Ben Gurion Museum, which is a house that was owned by Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion, and preserved pretty much the way he left it when he died in 1973. Unfortunately for me, the house was closed for the two day observance of Shavout, a Jewish holiday marking Moses' receiving of The 10 Commandments.
I walked down Ben Gurion Street past Tel Aviv City hall and into Yitzak Rabin Memorial Square, the site where Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin was gunned down by a radical Jew in 1995. A tasteful memorial has been set up on the east side of the square. This site was important to me, since I have long been an admirer of Rabin's.
South from Rabin Square is the Dizengoff Center, a multi-level mall named after Tel Aviv's first mayor. The most fascinating part about this mall was how much like an American mall it was, except for all of the signs being in Hebrew. People often think of Israel and it's ancient history and forget that a modern, successful country exists here. I usually hate malls, but wandered around this on with a sense of fascination. It was extremely crowded due to the holiday. Most of the shoppers were teenagers, which is where American teens would be on a holiday such as Memorial Day or Labor Day.
Continuing South to the Yemenite Quarter, I wandered into the Carmel Market. After staying in the Muslim Souq in Jerusalem, I felt like I'd seen this before. Still, it was interesting to see people out on the holiday shopping in the market for just about anything you can imagine. I only made it a few blocks due to the overwhelming crowds before I slipped out of the market and headed back to Sheinken Street, Tel Aviv's most famous street for being home to the beautiful people. I didn't really understand the appeal, but the street was lined with upscale clothing stores and boutiques.
My main reason for walking Sheinken Street was to use it to cut between the Carmel Market and Rothchild Boulevard. This street is mentioned in the guidebooks as a place to go to see Bauhaus Architecture, a uniquely Israeli style that started in the 1950s. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site called "The White City". I'd read in all the guidebooks (and heard it mentioned on travel sites and blogs) that this is one of the most confusing World Heritage Sites since of the almost 4,000 Bauhaus building in Tel Aviv, less than a handful have actually been restored. Most lie crumbling, and many are unrecognizable. I, though the help of a guidebook, was able to locate a couple and was decidedly unimpressed.
The other reason for walking this way was to pass the small, unassuming house where David Ben Gurion declared Israel an independent state in 1948. Neither Independence Hall r Founder's Square across the street were all that interesting, unless you are familiar with the story of Israel's Independence in 1948. I'd intended to carry on to the Shalom Tower and go up to the observation floor on the 48th floor, but was informed by the security guard that the tower no longer had an observation floor, and that I would have to go to the Azrieli Tower to view Tel Aviv from above. He advised that I call the tower first, to make sure it was open and not closed for a private function. As it was going to be a long walk, I did call and was glad I did. It was closed.
I was disappointed to not get pictures of Tel Aviv from above, but made up for it by having a restful late afternoon and evening in Jaffa. I knew it would be smart to get a good night's sleep since the next day I was heading for one of the highlights of the tip, The Dead Sea.
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