Shabbot Shalom - Tel Aviv & Ceasarea

We met the bus early to begin our journey. Since Shabbot (Jewish Sabbath Holy day) lasts through Saturday evening, there was very little traffic for our first day of exploring. Our initial stop was in the ancient port of Jaffa, which is said to be over 4000 years old.  

It was here in the 8th century B.C., according to the Bible, that Jonah 

(after being in the belly of a big fish) started his journey to Nineveh.

Much of Old Jaffa has been lovingly restored with renovated houses, artists studios and galleries.

 Jaffa is also a beautiful community with winding cobblestone streets, old world charm

 and incredible views.  We especially liked the address plates.  

Our guide, Rivkah, stopped at a lovely home at the end of town and commented that the family 

was a friend of hers.   She explained that the man was an artist, and mentioned that he even did a bit of photography in Lagos! After listening for a minute, I inquired if her friend was Victor Politis, 

who has done some fabulous books on Nigeria. It is indeed a small world, since she has been 

friends with Victor and family for about 20 years!

 I last spoke with Victor during December in Lagos and told him about our upcoming trip to Israel - 

and we discussed the recent unrest in the area.   He encouraged us to go (despite the concerns) and asked me to let him know when we were there.  

I never dreamed that I would end up right in front of his house.

 After connecting with his daughter, we found out that he was out of the country working on his next book, but the guide mentioned it all week long!   I am pictured below on his daughter's scooter!  :) 

We progressed on to see the modern Faith statue, which depicts Jacob's dream, 

the "sacrifice" of Issac and the fall of Jericho.

 We also visited St. Peter's church and monastery, a Franciscan order which has 

been in this location for over 100 years.

 It was beautiful inside too!

We toured Tel Aviv, which is a beautiful and very modern city, observing the 

 architecture and the various designs that have changed through the years. 

 We continued along the Mediterranean coastal road to Caesarea, built by 

Herod the Great as the capital of the Roman province of Judea.

 Caesarea was an important city during biblical times (See Acts) and Herod built the area

 to be lavish and Impressive with stunning views of the ocean.

It was built according to exacting standards and encompassed a royal palace, a temple, a theater, an amphitheater, a hippodrome, a market area, homes and ornate public buildings.  Its Herodian port was actually an artificial harbor which took 12 years to construct.

Herod was hated by the local citizens, but was well liked by the Romans as he 

brought Roman architecture and beauty to the people.

 The area has been rediscovered through archaeological 

findings, including headless statues and artifacts.

 One of the special finds at Caesarea contains an inscription referring to 

Pontius Pilate, the governor of Judea in 26-36 A.D.

When Arabs conquered the area in the 7th century A.D., Caesarea lost its political and economic standing.   However, during the crusades, the city was fortified with a massive wall and moat. 

We then drove to Haifa which is located on the Mount Carmel

 range and overlooks the Jezreel Valley.

Haifa is an important industrial, commercial and service center.  

Haifa is also an important trade city with an 

impressive port and modern buildings.

The roots of many religions have great importance in Israel - especially for Christians, Jews

 and Muslims.  It is truly the center of religion worldwide.

The Baha'i faith also has roots in the area and they have impressive gardens in Haifa.  The gardens and shrine are memorials to the leaders of their faith and a holy site to their people.   The building with the gold dome houses the tomb of their leader.   UNESCO has named the shrine a World Heritage Site.   

As we drove across the countryside, we enjoyed learning trivia about Israel.  

**The country is one of the most taxed in the world and has over 100% tax on cars.  

**The official languages are Hebrew and Arabic with English widely spoken.  

**Everything - even the ports - are closed for Shabbot.   

**Israel specializes in fish nurseries and dairy farming.  Not only do they export 

the products, but they make a large income from teaching others how to do the same.  

**24% of all workers in Israel have a college degree and they are 

ranked #2 in the world for books owned per capita.  

**They hold the largest percentage in the world for patents and 

they are 1 of only 8 countries who can send monitors into space.   

**The three largest cities are 1)Jerusalem - Capitol city  2) Tel Aviv  3) Haifa.   

**The embassies are located in Tel Aviv instead of the capitol 

since many nations do not recognize Jerusalem as the lead city. 

To describe the three major cities, we learned that: 

In Tel Aviv,  the people play....In Haifa, the people work and in Jerusalem, the people pray.