Tel Aviv

We left Jerusalem and traveled through Tel Aviv.  Tel Aviv is only about 100 years old and is a very modern city.  Tel means "old" and Aviv means "spring" in Hebrew.   The diamond trade is big in Israel due to the fact that they are easy to carry to trade.  Today Israel still does the diamond cutting, the best in the world.  We are going to get to see a diamond factory where we will see the people working with the diamonds.  They are building a 'bullet' train track that will be completed in about three years from now.  The train will go from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and it will only take 28 minutes to travel the distance, which now takes slightly less than 2 hours.


We have been seeing many American restaurants, KFC (above) and even McDonalds.  Our guide Avi stated that a Happy Meal in Tel Aviv costs $10.00.  Wow!


 
(left)
Caesarea was the next stop.   Herod the Great built the port city in 20 BCE.  For nearly 600 years Caesarea was the official capital of what the Romans called "Provincia Judea."  Pontius Pilate ruled from this city.  The remains of the city contain much art work from the Roman period.  There is the remains of an old freshwater pool, surrounded by the saltwater of the Mediterranean Sea.  There are mosaics surrounding the pool.  We walked on the shore of the Mediterranean.


Caesarea has Israel's only power plant that is run by coal that is shipped from Poland.  They have recently found natural gas in Israel, enough to provide the country with power for about 150 years.    Israel is a self-sustaining country, the only thing they have shipped in is oil. Fruits, vegetables, wheat, and other goods come from within the country.

(Right- the power plant)
(Below - the ships port that has the conveyor belt that takes the coal to the plant)



 
 
 
 














    Mosaic around the pool
(pool surrounded by the sea is below)

The theater above is an ancient Roman theater.  It was renovated in the 1960's and is still used today.  It seats 4500 people and the bottom row on the left is the original, the rest is part of the renovation.  The Rolling Stones have even played here!   

 Roman aqueducts that brought fresh water from Mt. Carmel to Caesarea (left and below) 

Megiddo was our next stop, overlooking the place where it is believed that the final battle will take place, Armageddon.  Megiddo was a major trade route that many roads pass through.  The Jezreel Valley is below Megiddo.  Megiddo has been destroyed and rebuilt 27 times through history, as a result, the ruins create a flat plateau some sixty feet above the level of the surrounding plain.  There are archeological restorations going on in Megiddo, the history spans 3500 years. 

 Over looking Jezreel Valley

We were able to walk to the top, and see the ruins.  We stood atop the Megiddo and looked across the valley, it is very lush and green right now.  We were unable to go through the excavated water systems this time, due to the recent rainfall and snow, the tunnels were flooded. 

(Above and to the right - archeological ruins)

 

 

Jezreel Valley (above left and right)

Our next stop was Nazareth.    Nazareth is known for its sweets and coffee.  Nazareth has the largest Arab Christian population in the Holy Land.  We got shop and walk the streets of Nazareth before traveling on to the Sea of Galilee.  Tomorrow we will get to ride a boat on the Sea of Galilee.