top of page

Caesarea, Zichron Yaacov, and Megiddo

 

Some ancient history with some modern history. The Tour starts in Caesarea and throws us back 2000 years to the time of Herod. Herod the monumental builder and some say the greatest builder the world had yet seen. From a small harbor between Jaffa and Dor, King Herod would build an artificial harbor in the open sea that was the most daring project the world had yet seen. Herod would name it Caesarea after his patron the Emperor Augustus Caesar back in Rome. We will walk thru this ancient city visiting the theater, hippodrome, the amazing harbor, nymphae, and many ancient relics from this long gone age. Most importantly here was found the only engraved inscription naming Pontius Pilates the Roman governor that according to the gospels sentenced Jesus to death. Caesarea would reach its peak during the Byzantine period and then shrink to a magnificent small walled city built by the Crusaders. Today it's gates are open with restaurants that invite visitors day and night.

 

Nearby is the modern farming settlement of Zichron Yaacov that was nurtured by a different patron. The philanthropic patron of the New Yishuv or modern Israel was the Baron Edmond Rothschild. Here in Zichron that was named after the Baron's father Jacob we will walk down the reconstructed main founders street retelling those early years when the new eastern European settlers began to put down roots. Here we will stop and eat in one of the many restaurants before continuing north.

 

The ancient city of Megiddo not far away has more than 25 layers of excavated settlements and has been declared a World Heritage Site. We will visit this biblical site and walk thru remains of an impressive Canaanite gate from 3500 years ago and then thru one of the three Solomonic six chamber gates as identified by the famed archaeologist Yigal Yadin. We will view Jezreel Valley from the top of the Tel and what some believe will be the field of the final battle or Armageddon. Before leaving we will descend and walk thru a camouflaged hewed water tunnel dug by the Israelite's to guarantee a water supply at times of siege. An amazing day for sure!

 

bottom of page