Our Trip to Israel - Day Five - Acre and Caesarea

Baha'i Gardens of Haifa from above

Sunday, David & my last day in Israel, we took a different tack. Instead of a bus tour with other people, we engaged a private tour guide for our visit to Caesarea and Acre. David has had a long passion for the Crusades, and we had a short day to visit these two Crusader cities. A private guide would let us focus on just the things David wanted to see.

Amir caught on right away to David's passion, and challenged him to discover the depth of his passion and knowledge.

He also pointed out the high tech area that has sprung up north of Tel Aviv, where we saw offices for Google, Intel, Microsoft as well as many Israel high tech firms.

When he heard my wife was studying in Haifa, he insisted we make a quick stop in Haifa on the way to Acre. The photo at the top of the page is of the Hanging Gardens of Haifa.

Looking up at the Gardens

Acre

Post from RICOH THETA. - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

The moat. Being the desert, there was no water in moats.

Post from RICOH THETA. - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

This is the courtyard inside the fort that was also a prison.

Caesarea

Post from RICOH THETA. - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

The underground tunnel system where Crusaders would bring goods to and from the port. Also served as a possible escape route.

Post from RICOH THETA. - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

If you look closely, what you see is the remains of what used to be the ancient port but sadly it is mostly under the sea.

A medieval hand grenade, also known as Greek Fire.

A bronze age spearhead.

These last two photos were taken in an antiquity shop. Israel law requires anyone finding antiquities to turn them in. If the item is surplus, that is, there are already many like it in the collections, it can be sold in stores like this.

A scuba diver in the last several years found thousands of gold coins from Crusader times. He turned them all in.

Our Map for the day

Day One and Two - Tel Aviv, Masada and the Dead Sea

Day Three - Jerusalem

Day Four - Israel Museum

Day Five - Acre and Caesarea

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