Central Coast - Caesarea - Dor

Israel - Central Coast

The Coast - Caesarea

Caesarea

When Augustus granted Herod the Great control of Stranton Tower on the Mediterranean coast, Herod commenced another spectacular building project - turning the naval station into a major port city and the provincial capital of Roman Judea. He would rename it Caesarea in honor of Augustus. The major challenge of the location was there was no natural harbour so Herod began construction of breakwaters built from lime and pozzolana set into underwater concrete that would form one of the largest artificial harbours of the ancient world. By about 10 B.C.E. it was a shining white marble city which, according to Josephus, was famous for its beauty. It included a Roman temple, a theater, an amphitheater, a modern aqueduct that supplied running water and an elaborate underground sewer system. Caesarea became the official residence of the Roman Governor’s such as Pontius Pilate. At its peak Caesarea was one of the most important seaports on the eastern Mediterranean coast, rivaling Alexadria in Egypt, and was the seat of government in Judea. The city remained a capital during Byzantium times, was conquered during the Muslim conquest in the 7th century, conquered again and rebuilt for a time by the Crusaders and was finally destroyed by the Mamluks in the end of the 13th century.

Caesarea had a prominent history in the Christian Greek scriptures as the place where Peter baptized the Italian army officer Cornelius and his family who became the first non Jews to convert to Christianity (Ac 10). It is also where Paul visited a number of times (Ac 21:7) including when he was imprisoned for 2 years and had his trial at the palace of Governor Festus before his appeal to Caesar (Ac 25,26).

Today Caesarea is part of Caesarea National Park and the ruins of the city, port, temple, breakwaters, reef palace, hippodrome and the aqueduct gives a fantastic glimpse into an elegant roman city, a remarkable example of ancient engineering and a place with an important history.

Dor

Dor

The ancient city of Dor is usually identified with the excavation at Tel Dor, about 30 kilometers south of Haifa, on the north coastal plain along the Mediterranean Sea next to modern Moshav Dor. Dor is mentioned in the Hebrew scriptures in a battle with Joshua’s army (Jos 11:1, 2) and later as one of the cities that supplied food to the royal household of Solomon (1Ki 4:11). According to Josephus Dor was rebuilt to Roman standards as a port by Pompey, but after the construction of nearby Caesarea, by King Herod, the focus of the growing Maritime trade shifted from Dor to the larger and deeper harbors of Caesarea. This started the slow decline of Dor until it was finally destroyed by the Mamluks with the conquering of the Crusaders. In 1799 Napoleon and his armies camped here after his failed siege of Acco. Today there are ongoing excavations on the site near a lovely and quiet stretch of Mediterranean beach.

daniel campbellMarch 23, 2020