ISRAEL FIRST FULL DAY- FRI. OCT. 16, 2015

We started out our day early and tired.  We did have a good and friendly buffet breakfast and most of the folks got on the bus on time.  Our first stop was Caesares which was north of Tel Aviv and only a short distance away.  We entered and saw a video to give us a little perspective as to what we were about to embark upon.  This area consists of layers and layers of history.  Roman structures were there first, Byzantine and then Muslim. The main structures such as the theater, the hippodrome where charriot races or horse races took place and columns of all sorts were from Roman times. Each group built on top of the others since there were lots and lots of years between.  Earthquakes caused major damage to the area too.  The port which had been a major harbor changed considerably over time.  There was one area where we stood that had at one time been sea water in the port. That particular section wasn't even the longest part of the once thriving port. We did have some lovely views of the Mediterranean Sea along with some large aqueducts.  Lots of history in just one spot.

Next we checked out Mount Carmel which gave us a wonderful view of "The Bread Basket of Israel".  This valley is a great area for agriculture but the drainage must be watched since it is a swamp area to begin with.  We then went to a "Israeli Fastfood" which was a special secret spot since there were already at least 5 tour busses there.  It was ok but nothing special, but at least we did get a free lunch, since lunches are not normally included in our tours.

Onward to Haifa which is a huge seaport city that has an industrial section as well as other shipping areas.  The well manicured Baha'i Gardens also can be viewed from this location.  

Haifa is a huge seaport city.

Baha'i gardens leading to middle of street below.

We checked out an ancient fishing port that had at one time been huge Crusader Fortresses which had been buried under many layers of dirt from some previous leader.  The current buildings look like they are sitting upon a hill but since excavation of the fortress, they now know that the fortress area was not only large but two stories tall.  There are tunnels underneath as well which may have been ways to disappear or for sewage.  Let's hope they were for hiding since sewage doesn't sound all that terrific, even if it is ancient sewage.  

Huge arches and ceiling of the crusaders' fortress.

It is 2 stories tall and those are the original steps. (not the railing)

Hopefully it wasn't used for sewage. 😝

We headed to our hotel which is really quite nice and is located on the Sea of Galilee.  

Now to head down to the bar area for a little wine before we close our day. 🍷 Our days are long but made longer by the SLOW peeps disembarking the bus.  A Chinese fire drill on this bus would take 15 FL stop lights that didn't change to green for 2 days. See we need a drink. 😊

View from our hotel last night. 😟

View from our hotel tonight. 😎