Living the retirement dream

Our airbnb host, Guy Camrass,  offered to spend the day with us and drive north to see some ancient Roman ruins.  He drove us to Caesarea National Park in the Sharon plain  along the seashore of Israel half way between Tel Aviv and Haifa.  It is the site of one of the most important cities of the Roman world, the capital of the province of Judea. The city was built between 22 & 10 BC by Herod the great as an urban center and harbor.

All that is left of the old port after being rebuilt a number of times.

Most of the old port is under water now.

The city and port have been destroyed and rebuilt multiple times due to the ravages of sea storms, earthquakes and invaders.  The city has been populated off and on through the centuries by multiple different invaders and was lying dormant in the early 20th century until the land was purchased by Baron Rothschild and at the end of the 1950’s the family transferred the land to the Caesarean Rothschild foundation and invited the state to become a partner to continue developing the area.  We entered the Crusader gate and explored remnants of houses, hotels, the Roman amphitheater and a Hippodrome where chariot races as well as gladiator games took place.

Guy showing us the Crusader gate.

Roman nymphaeum, a pool or grotto dedicated to a water nymph.

Roman Hippodrome.

Old amphitheater which is now used for summer concerts.

The remains of the temple are on the highest spot overlooking the harbor.

Restoration of the steps leading up to the temple site.

We strolled through the different areas with Guy looking for ancient artifacts on the ground, pieces of tiles and glass. Jim even found what may be an ancient coin.  Guy took us off the tourist route to venture into the active excavation area and we poked through the many canvas bags that held remnants of life from the various inhabitants of this city over the course of eons.

Its a huge outdoor museum in the making.

We absolutely loved the day and so appreciated Guy giving his time to us.  It was great to get to know him better.  We have been very fortunate with our airbnb selections and have met some wonderful hosts like Dave & Bill who took us to breakfast in Cleveland, but Guy went over and above by treating us to this day.  We ended the tour with a lovely lunch at a great fish restaurant on the beach before Guy returned us to our airbnb in Tel Aviv.

Benny the fisherman on the beach.

Sunset from our balcony.