Israel: Jerusalem and Haifa # 11, cont.

                                                Israel: Jerusalem and Haifa # 11, cont.

Late Friday afternoon orthodox Jews leave synagogues and homes and begin to celebrate the end of Shabbat

Very festive mood. Most men and women do not walk together.

 Woman leads friends in song

Formal attire

            Many men standing on balconies singing and shouting festive/religious songs.                       Men below are expressing themselves as if "reaching out to God."

Too cold and windy in morning to eat breakfast on our apartment balcony

Gray sky = huge sand storm. Not sure if sand is coming from Sahara or Iraq. Different opinions from people we asked.

Lots of apartment building going on to support increasing needs. Train routs are expanding

       Israel has become a significant supplier of natural gas   

       

                              

                                       Went to Caesarea. We had no idea the area was so large.

Roman amphitheater is used for live concerts. Fantastic youth choir (Druze children) were rehearsing an American "Pop" song

                        Many statues, columns and other items are laying around.






Romans (King Herod) brought marble and other building materials from all over the Mediterranean area. (See "Red dots.") Huge blocks of "rock" were shipped, rolled and pulled to this area. Herod was a great architect. He also wanted to impress August Caesar - Julius Caesar's nephew thus the large entertainment and port area.

                    
Just like Ben Hur movie as well as other period movies, the upper left photo shows where horse and chariot races took place. The upper right photo shows the seats.

                        David (our guide) demonstrates how to use the public restroom

  The area goes on and on and on...

   Jerry supports the pillars

                                                            Food stalls area

Holes in stone block used to tie up the horses. Archaeologists are working the area

Crusaders built on top of Roman buildings. Photo on right is a dry moat

 

Next stop was Akko - a coastal town which was primarily "Arab."

Historically, the town had a fortress to protect the locals and fight off "the bad guys."

                                            Beautiful, serene park in the town

We were starving - had a tight schedule - this man made us a quick and delicious falafel

                                                                    YUM!

                         Time to visit the Arab Souk (market place)

Lots of local color

School kids tour the area

                                        Woman is completely covered except for her feet

                                                        Jerry loves his manholes

                                                           Choose a scarf, hat or...

                                                Arlene checks out the spices

                                               Does anyone want sunflower seeds?

                                                               Fresh fish?

                                                                 Hot bread?

                                                            Shawarma?

                                                Cracking open a FRESH almond

                                            The scent in this area is amazing!

                                                   So, what's good today?

                                                              Girl's day out

Four-legged tourist

                                                                        Akka Mosque