The roundtrip cruise ended again in Haifa, Israel. This time the disembarking went easily. We
had arranged ahead of time for a driver to take us to Jerusalem with two stops on the way (I had
contacted him the day before to let him know the problems with disembarkation, but then we got
to the meeting point early). Our first stop was at the ancient city Tel Meggido, from which
comes the word Armageddon in the Bible. King Josiah was slain there by the Egyptians.
Archeological digs show a total of about 30 levels of civilizations on the Tel. The second
stop was at the seaside city of Caeserea, originally from the 6th century BCE. However, a
large planned city was built by Herod in the 1st century BCE, with a distinctly Roman design.
Another large section was erected by Crusaders much later. The whole site was huge, the old
hippodrome is immense, and the ancient theater is used as a venue today.
(Click on a picture to see it larger. Opens in a new folder.)
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