We left Tel Aviv in the early morning and drove a short distance to Jaffa, an ancient biblical port city near Tel Aviv where Jonah set sail and where Peter had his housetop experience at the home of Simon the Tanner. Today, the two cities have merged to form one municipal area, but they are very distinct in character. Tel Aviv is a modern metropolis that dates back to 1909.
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be the oldest in the world dating back three thousand years. Parts of the Old City have been renovated, turning Jaffa into a tourist attraction featuring old restored buildings, art galleries, theaters, souvenir shops, restaurants, sidewalk cafes and promenades. As we walked along the cobblestone streets it was hard to visualize what it looked like 3000 years ago.
We drove along the beautiful Mediterranean coast to ancient Caesarea, a walled city and harbor built by King Herod over a twelve-year period between 23-13 BCE. Since my visit last year a new exhibit opened--The Caesarea Experience, a multi-media presentation that takes you on a journey through Caesarea's history during which you are introduced to the various civilizations that controlled the city from Herod's time, to the Roman Period; from the Byzantine Era, the Arabs, to the time of the Crusaders.
The history of Caesarea is fascinating. King Herod wanted to build a monument to show his gratitude to his Roman patron, Caesar Augustus. In the year 10 BCE, he launched one of the largest building campaigns ever conducted, turning Caesarea, named after the Roman emperor, into one of the most striking cities of its time in the world. When the Romans assumed direct control over Judaea in 6 CE, Caesarea became not only the capital of the province (a role it played for the next 500 years), but the headquarters for the Roman legions stationed in Judaea. Caesarea is an important site in both Jewish and Christian history.
We toured the Crusader fortress, the aqueduct (originally built by Herod in the first century BCE, which conveyed water to the city from springs at the foot of Mt. Carmel, over 7 miles away),
and the ancient amphitheater where concerts are still being held on a regular basis.
Caesarea is truly a tribute to Herod’s skill as both an engineer and architect.After a quick stop for lunch at a local falafel stand (more Israeli fast food,) we continued north toward Haifa. Our next stop was Atlit, a former detention camp used to intern Jewish immigrants deemed illegal by the British authorities.
The Atlit "Illegal" Immigrant Detention Camp tells the story of the struggle of Jews fleeing Europe from Nazi persecution and death, trying to reach British controlled Palestine, only to be incarcerated in camps similar in appearance to the concentration camps of Europe. In 1939, in the wake of a four-year Arab uprising, the High Commissioner of the British Mandate issued a "White Paper" severely limiting the number of Jews permitted to enter Israel, in an effort to pacify the Arab leadership's demand for a halt to Jewish immigration. This camp was used to hold “illegal” immigrants known as Ma’apilim in Hebrew. From 1946, similar detention camps were established in Cyprus to which another 50,000 immigrants were held.In October 1945, a daring military operation headed by Nahum Sarig and the young Yitzhak Rabin, later Israel's Prime Minister, broke into the camp and freed the 208 detainees. The camp continued to operate as a detention site until the end of the British mandate period in 1948.
Atlit was a real eye opener. I had read stories of ships carrying Jewish immigrants from Europe being turned back before reaching Palestine, but I had never heard of Atlit, and was not aware there were actual detention camps in Israel. When Israel became a state in May 1948, Atlit was used as a processing center for thousands of Jews immigrating to Israel.We arrived in Haifa in the late afternoon and barely had time to change before we were off for dinner in Osafia, a Druze village 30 minutes east of Haifa in the Carmel Mountains. We were welcomed into the village and invited to the home of the mayor, who also owns the restaurant where we were having dinner. Bill Handel and the mayor got along famously.
I was not at all familiar with the Druze religion and was surprised to learn that over 100,000 Druze live in Israel. They have Israeli citizenship and even serve in the Israeli Defense Forces (the Israeli army). According to our guide, the Druze religion was founded in the eleventh century by al-Hakim, 6th Fatimid Caliph, as a reform movement within Islam. The Druzes are strict monotheists. They revere Hakim as an incarnation of God, and expect him to return one day. Druze are also unitarian, believing all mankind to be divine. They believe in reincarnation and the spiritual superiority of women. One must be born a Druze in order to be initiated. One cannot convert into the religion.The food, mostly salads, humus and freshly-made pita bread was wonderful.
Several members of the family joined us for the meal and we were able to ask questions about their lifestyle and religion. Basically, Druze accept the Koran, the Judeo-Christian bible, and the writings of Hakim as meaningful.It had been a long day and we were all more than ready for a good nights sleep. The next day we were off to Nazareth.
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