Herod (you know the one) built a lot of stuff around the beginning of the current era, including the beautiful and remarkable achievement of Caesarea. This was a large and successful sea port for the Romans and became a provincial capital before being abandoned, then repurposed, after Saladin razed the defenses. The crusaders, among others, rebuilt and, as a result, you can see more than a thousand years of architecture in a small area, including a 5,000 seat Roman amphitheater and a good example of a Roman commercial street. As the Romans scaled their outdoor theaters to the population of the city this would indicate Caesarea once had more than 50,000 inhabitants, comprising, among others, Christians, Jews, and later, Moslems.
The place has been well used. It even served as a settlement for a batch of Bosnian Muslims at one point. Now, of course, it's a tourist attraction. The Israelis have done a lot in the thirty years since my last visit: the car park has been expanded and moved, and excavations have been greatly extended. There's much more to see, even if it has been rather tamed for tourism. It certainly deserves a visit, although if Roman ruins are your thing, there are much better sites to be had (but none with harbors). It is the harbor that makes Caesarea unique and exceptional. Herod apparently developed (or first used) the idea of filling a barge with rudimentary cement and then sinking it in place to form the breakwaters, an idea borrowed in Normandy for logistical support for the D-Day landings (minus the cement).
We had a great, open-air lunch overlooking the old port, starting with messe salads and working our way through to fresh fish (it was politely introduced to us prior to being cooked) and calamari. We enjoyed the lunch a great deal, and such events snuggle close to my concept of heaven on earth as they involve at least three of my favorite things. After a bit of a walk-around, it was time to find the bus. It was a long ride from Taybeh to whence we returned by early evening. T. had arranged both the bus and dinner for the family group, which made him very popular with us all. It was a day of four hours in the bus, four hours of eating and drinking, and a half-hour of being tourists. We all slept in the bus on the return.
Driving down from the heights of Taybeh on the coastal flats, you could feel the difference in air, humidity and temperature. To put it simply: it was hot and uncomfortable and a reminder that it's summer on the Med. I noticed again the extensive road network now in place. Think of the difference in interstate highways in the U.S. between 1950 and 1970 and you get the general idea. Gone are the long, wandering and limited roads that were used to get almost anywhere in the country. I can remember the route from Jerusalem to Jericho was so hair-raising that if not a believer when departing Jerusalem you certainly embraced the idea of a divinity by the outskirts of Jericho. Now it takes half the time and has lost all of its thrill.
Rumor has it that parts of the region we drove through to get to Caesarea are being considered for a swap trade with the Palestinians (or Jordan, depending upon who you listen to). In the deal, Israel would get to keep most of its larger settlements in the West Bank while they would rid themselves of over a million Arab inhabitants. It would do wonders for their idea of national demographics. If you're holding your breath in anticipation of such an agreement, exhale.
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