Saturday & Sunday, April 15-16, 2023 – Days 115 & 116
Overlooking the port town of Haifa, Israel.
Our home away from home, the Viking Neptune in the center of the picture.
I had the privilege of visiting Israel last June/July with our church, so I was really looking forward to reliving some of my experiences with Jeff as he had not been able to go on that trip. It was such an awe-inspiring experience that I looked forward to sharing it with him. We arrived in Israel at an uncomfortable time, but our port of Haifa felt very safe. With Haifa as our base, we had options for going into Caesarea, Jaffa, Jerusalem, Bethlehem and beyond over our two-day stay.
Jerusalem has three major religions trying to celebrate some of their most cherished events, at the same time, at the same sites. Ramadan (3/22/23-4/21/23) concurrent with Passover (4/6), Easter (4/9), the Orthodox Festival of the Holy Fire (4/15) and Orthodox Easter (4/16). People of all faiths are in the city, tensions have been high, and violence has erupted. During this same time, Israel has sent rockets flying. In the midst of this, we arrive.
Because crowds and traffic in Jerusalem were expected to be at their height on Saturday, 4/16 (Orthodox Festival of Holy Fire), the first day of our visit, our trip to Jerusalem was cancelled and rescheduled for Sunday; still a very busy day with Orthodox Easter celebrations in full swing. So, on Saturday we took an excursion to Caesarea, Jaffa and Haifa.
Here in Caesarea, in 1961 the ‘Pilate Stone’ was discovered. It is the only archaeological item yet found that mentions the Roman prefect Pontius Pilate, who ordered the crucifixion of Jesus. It is likely Pilate used Caesarea as his base, and only went to Jerusalem when needed.
During the Roman period, King Herod I expanded the area, building many structures, and dedicated the town and its port to Caesar Augustus naming it Caesarea.
Statue ruins outside the Theater of Caesarea.
Entering the seaside Theater of Caesarea
Inside the theater. This theater is still used for concerts today.
Ruins of Herod’s Palace/Home with some surviving mosaic floor tile.
Public toilets on the way to the Hippodrome (sports arena). With multiple ‘toilets’ side-by-side (or as our guide said, cheek to cheek), it was the social center of its day.
View from outside the Hippodrome, the Caesarea sporting arena of the day.
Inside the Hippodrome where chariot races thundered around the track and the blood of Gladiators was spilt on the sandy arena floor. Sport had different consequences back then.
Ruins of the ancient port of Caesarea Maritima.
In the New Testament book of Acts, it is mentioned that the apostle Paul found safety in Caesarea when his life was endangered in Jerusalem. It was from this port that Paul returned to native Tarsus for a time. He also visited Caesarea between his second and third missionary journeys. He was imprisoned here for two years before being sent to Rome.
It was also here in Caesarea that the apostle Peter baptized Cornelius the Centurion and his household. The beginnings of Christian baptism of Gentiles. Read Acts 10:1 – 11:18 for the account.
Standing on the ground where these things took place stirs my soul. In our day-to-day lives we tend to forget how our lives link to world-wide history. I feel extremely blessed to have the opportunity to connect in such a physical way as we travel to many ancient sites.
Next, we were on to Jaffa/Joppa.
What is a supposedly life-sized statue of Napoleon doing in Jaffa? In 1799 there was a military engagement between French forces, under the direction of Napoleon, in which the French captured the city of Jaffa from the ruling Ottomans. Apparently when Napoleon sent two messengers to the Ottoman camp to arrange surrender, the Ottoman’s tortured and beheaded the messengers. In retaliation, Napoleon is said to have ordered the mass killing of 3,000 Christian, Jew and Muslim people captured in the siege of Jaffa. We were told that the diminutive statues around the modern town show a local disrespect for Napoleon over that event in history. This statue had a mask painted on it during COVID, which seems all the more fitting as in 1799 the French troops are said to have been responsible for an outbreak of the plaque during their occupation of Jaffa.
Back in Haifa, we traveled to the foot of Mount Carmel. Much further up Mount Carmel is the site of the battle between God’s prophet Elijah and the prophets of Baal. See I Kings 18 for the full story.
A short way up the slope we passed some very elaborate and beautiful gardens known as the Baháʼí Terraces or the Hanging Gardens of Haifa.
View from the bottom of the Hanging Gardens.
Nine concentric circles fan out from the center Shrine of Báb creating eighteen terraces plus the one terrace at the shrine, making nineteen beautifully landscaped terraces total. Nineteen is said to be a significant number within the Baháʼí religion.
View from low on the slope of Mount Carmel looking down into the Hanging Gardens of Haifa.
Back onboard, our view over the port into the city of Haifa from our cabin, resting our tired feet on a beautiful evening!
After a 10-hour tour of Caesarea, Jaffa and Haifa we made the difficult decision that taking the 13+ hour tour into a jam-packed Jerusalem, at this tense time, was not going to fit into our plans. Being this close and skipping Jerusalem was disappointing but felt like the right decision. This unplanned free day turned out to be quite a treat and good preparation for the last three weeks of our adventure when we will be in port touring almost every day.
All of our fellow travelers who ventured into Jerusalem had a wonderful time. The crowds were difficult, but everyone returned safely. We thought we’d be the only people left onboard, but there were quite a few of us who opted to ‘stay home’. After some brief regret we still think our decision was right for us. I figure we’ll just have to come back!
Farewell for now Israel, I hope we can visit you again!
We now sail for Rhodes, Greece.