Caesarea – An ancient site unveils new points of interest to experience and explore
It’s that time of year again. you want to plan a family tiyul (trip), but it’s not easy to find something that everyone will enjoy. If you cater to the younger kids in the family, you will be at the receiving end of a lot of eye-rolling from the teenagers. If you cater to the older kids, you’ll have to entertain the little ones while their siblings have fun.
Well, I’m here to offer a solution that should at least minimize the eye-rolling. (they are teenagers after all). Caesarea has something for everyone – from scuba diving to glass blowing to history to golf. Kids as young as eight can go on an introductory dive in the underwater archaeological park. they can see the techniques that King herod used to build the port of Caesarea as well as the ruins of sunken and ravaged ships.
an introductory scuba dive includes a lesson on using the equipment, and then a one-onone 45-minute dive with a scuba instructor. I was too chicken to try it, but my son (who is an experienced diver) was happy to try it. Instructor yael luliane started off with a history lesson about Caesarea and how the harbor was built by King herod 2,000 years ago, before heading out on the dive.
the diving area includes sunken ships and an ancient anchor. there is even a ship that was used to smuggle immigrants into Israel.
“It’s really interesting to see the boats down there,” he said, referring to the sunken ships. “not many people get to see these historical landmarks that have been here for centuries but are now underwater.”
If art is more your thing, check out Speculo Glassblowing Studio on the second floor of one of the buildings overlooking the harbor. there are glassblowing workshops where each participant makes something to take home, such as a vase or a mug. the studio is beautiful and filled with creations made on the spot by the artists who work there. It’s well worth a visit, although workshops must be booked in advance.
It’s hot these days and if you’re looking to cool off a little, the new visitors’ center at the archaeological park is well air-conditioned and worth a visit. Built in the original vaults of King herod’s palace, there is an impressive display of gold coins found under the sea, and a well-done 10-minute movie about King herod, which can be shown in either hebrew or english. the vaults were in danger of collapsing, and archaeologists worked together with engineers and preservation architects for more than five years to save them.
“It took a lot of guts to make the movie the way it is,” Vered Sarig Cohen, the dynamic Caesarea harbor manager told The Jerusalem Post. “For the first time we dared to show herod’s personality the way no one has done before. It’s like we put him on the operating table and said, “this is his personality, this is his psychopathology, let’s dare and show it to the people.”
the VISItorS’ Center is part of the Caesarea national park, which extends from the roman theater in the south to the Crusader city in the north. there is also the well-known herodian amphitheater and hippodrome, used in roman times for horse races. there are several suggested walking routes ranging from two hours to six hours. If you plan to do this, start early, as it gets quite hot during the day here.
the visitors’ center, as well as many other projects, was funded by the Caesarea development Corporation. Ceo michael Karsenti said they had hoped to see the streets of Caesarea thronged with tourists this summer, hoping that CoVId would be in the past. he said they have spent 77 million shekels on restoration efforts, including the new visitors’ center.
“It feels wonderful to have so much related to religion, the sea and antiquities, as well as the story of the people of Israel from the time of King herod,” he said.
the Caesarea Foundation is supported by the edmond de rothschild Foundation.
“the international recognition of Caesarea’s reconstruction and development project, led by Baroness ariane de rothschild, is another testament to the rothschild family’s important and continuing contribution to the Israeli economy and its higher education, in general, and to the field of archaeology in particular,” said miki Kliger, vice chairman of the Foundation. “We are of course not resting on laurels
and are continuing nurturing the site and upgrading our visitors’ experiences.”
althouGh I’Ve lived in Israel for 30 years and have visited Caesarea at least a dozen times, I had never been at the Golf Club before. Who knew that there was a championship 18-hole golf course right here in our tiny country? Walking onto the golf course
feels like walking into a different world. It’s green and peaceful and you can drive around in golf carts.
Chief golf pro Boaz Segev says that golf as a sport has taken off in Israel in recent years.
“you won’t find anywhere in the world that a golf course has the diversity of so many cultures, different people, different ages, different education levels as here,” he said. “In the uS and england there are different clubs for different levels of society but here this is one club for everyone.”
he relates the story of asher Iso, an ethiopian immigrant and long-time gardener of the club, who earlier this year won the Israel men’s master tournament. he pointed to the apartment buildings of nearby or akiva, which began as a lower-income town, and said that in the early days of the club, the teenagers from or akiva used to be the caddies. now, he said, they, and their children are competing in tournaments. In the most recent tournament, one of the winners was 15-year-old Itay Cohen from or akiva.
If you’re serious about your golf game, there’s a fancy system that analyzes your stroke including the angle and how far you hit the ball. the club is also running a series of specials, including a family golfing lesson (up to five people) for nIS 399.