C is for...

Caesarea

Herod's pool

Mediterranean Sea

flying buttresses

Crusader Fortress wall

Caesarea is a town on the Northern coast of Israel, built by Herod the Great, around 25 - 13 BCE, which became a national park in 1952.  it is a treasure trove of archaeological discovery, and boasts many gorgeous discoveries such as jewelry, statuary, architecture from various periods throughout history, an impressive amphitheater and hippodrome, among other wonders.  one of the vessels thought to be the infamous 'Holy Grail' was also found there.  I've been privileged enough to have been there more than once, most recently this past summer, when I brought my son with me.  he's not much for archaeology, and we had both had a less-than-stellar journey the day before to get there, so all we really wanted to do was go to the beach, and enjoy the Mediterranean, but the other members of our party had other plans.  so we split off from our group, and the older folks (who had also been there before) took a leisurely stroll, while the teen and I chose to jump the barriers, and make our way to the water.  very naughty, I know, but forcing my son to engage with ruins isn't the way to foster a love of history in him (and I was tired), so we did what would make for good memories, instead.  these pictures reflect almost nothing of the wonders to be discovered there, but here's a link to their website where you can find something worth looking at:  Caesarea National Park map.

I'm trying to work through the alphabet with ABC-Wednesday, but I had a 'milestone' birthday this past week, so I got busy, and forget to post!  now I have to play catch up...