Caesarea

We had a slightly earlier than usual start today, but it was good to get out of the city with the nationalistic fervour increasing so much there. It was about 2 hours drive to Caesarea and our first taste of the Mediterranean. The carpark looked like a world convention of tour buses when we arrived - maybe all the tourists in the country were wanting to avoid Jerusalem today! Ibrahim had booked us in to watch a short film on the history of the town and while we waited for that to be ready, he showed us the adjacent amphitheatre. Mike was keen to text the acoustics so grabbed his guitar and we sang our NZ party piece (Pokarekare ana) to a class of Israeli schoolchildren and their teacher, who seemed to enjoy it. (I confess that there are days when I feel like I am touring with the Von Trapp family singers rather than being on a holy land pilgrimage!)

After the film, Ibrahim gave us a tour of the excavations, pointing out a site where it is thought that Paul probably one in defence at his trial (we read the relevant episode aloud at that point), the hippodrome, remains of the Crusader city etc. There was a replica of a stone found there with an inscription on it that is the only evidence outside the Bible for the existence of Pontius Pilate.

And we enjoyed a bit of time to dip our toes in the blue Mediterranean. Alongside the historical ruins, there were some restaurants and cafes and the place generally seemed to be a pleasant seaside resort.Read more