Caesaria National Park

Built by Herod the Great in about 30 B.C. Caesarea was one of the main Roman towns in the eastern Mediterranean. Captured by the Crusaders in 1101, it fell into ruin after the demise of the Crusaders. Archaeologists, beginning in the 1960s, uncovered a Roman theater and the old city walls from the Crusader period, but the 250 acre site has even now only been partly explored. One of the surprises which has lately been recovered from the dunes is a great hippodrome, which had been described by Josephus Flavius in 80 A.D. Since the sea had destroyed all trace of the western wall of the hippodrome, it was decided to build a sea wall topped by a promenade which would mark the line of the lost side. This enables one to “see” the size and grace of the ancient structure, and also provides a pleasant walk among the ruins, and by the edge of the Mediterranean. The planning also included walkways, the Old City, an archaeological garden and parking areas.