in the middle east

Before Jocelyn left, we wanted to take one more day trip somewhere around the country. We decided to rent a car and head to the northern Mediterranean coast to some places that none of us had been before. Our first stop was at the ancient, ruined city of Caesarea. Built by Herod the Great in the mid-20's BC, he named it after the Roman emperor, and made it into a magnificent coastal harbor-city. He also made, of course, his own seaside royal palace. Incidentally, we are told that Paul the apostle stayed in this palace when he was taken here as a political prisoner before he went to Rome (Acts 23:22-27). This was quite a place: a horse racing stadium, theater, aqueduct and gigantic harbor. It turned out to be a beautiful, warm day at the coast: perfect for walking on the shore. After Caesarea, we headed further north into the mountain range of Carmel. This range of hills runs NW and ends in the modern city of Haifa. The mountains are well-known due to the famous story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal told in 1Kings 18 which happened there. We headed up to the highest place we could find, took a nice walk around, and witnessed a stunning sunset over the Mediterranean. On our way back we stopped at the IKEA in Tel-Aviv (yes, they have one in Tel-Aviv) where we had dinner (which was quite good) and picked up some candles for the apartment. We did all this in 350 kilometers (our limit for the rental car) and one day. Click here to see the pics.