Israel, Day 4: Caesaria, Haifa, Akko

We got out of Tel Aviv today, driving up to different sites about an hour north of the city. Driving in Israel is pretty easy, once you have the parking regulations down, and as long as you don't mind things getting kind of tight in some spaces.

First stop was Caesarea - this is an old Roman port that changed hands a bunch of times, was consumed by sand, then uncovered in the 19th century. It reminded me a lot of Pompeii and was fun to explore.

Caesarea port ruins

There were some surprisingly well-preserved structures, although I think these were from a later date than Pompeii and from various periods. The Crusaders apparently stopped here. There is an amphitheater, a track for horse racing, and lots of port structures.

Caesarea

I recommend a stop here, especially if you haven't been to European Roman ruins (or even if you have).

On our way up to Haifa, there were some fires on the side of the road (no idea if controlled or uncontrolled) and traffic was stopped in both directions for a while. Almost immediately on stopping, over half of the Israelis got out of their car and wandered to try to get a look. 

Rubberneckers wandering from their cars

As rule-following Americans, we hesitated to get out of the car in case traffic started moving again. Eventually Mike took a look around just before we started again. I thought it was a hilarious and even endearing rubbernecking tradition.

First up in Haifa was an Egyptian hummus spot called Abu Shakar, recommended by Ruthie, our Delicious Israel tour guide. We sat down and they asked us what kind of hummus we wanted, and they proceeded to give us salads, pitas, rice, beans, falafel, and all other manner of tasties.  What a great stop.

Hummus at Abu Shakar

Thus energized, we walked up to the Baha'i Shrine & Gardens entrance for some pictures and a brief entry into the gardens. 

Baha'i Shrine & Gardens in Haifa

It was very disappointing, but they don't let you explore the gardens. I had heard there was an English tour, but I have no idea where that gathers. You can go up about one flight of stairs and then the gates are locked. Same thing when you enter from the top. Oh well. They're still very pretty.

Haifa has a fairly large Arab / Muslim population, so we saw quite a few more ladies in hijabs than we had seen in Tel Aviv. The Baha'i Gardens were a very popular stop for them.

Next we visited the ancient city of Akko (sometimes known as Acre), which was a port city later fortified by Crusaders.

Akko sea wall

We walked all around the sea wall, checked out the Medieval city, and bought some snacks. It was a very dramatic place that is compared with Dubrovnik in Europe. Not sure why, but we saw more Orthodox Jews in Akko than in Tel Aviv, as well.

Funnily enough, this was Mike's least favorite stop of the day, but it was Dave's favorite. Different strokes and all that.

When we got back to Tel Aviv, we ate dinner at an Indian-owned restaurant, Tandoori. Ruthie from Delicious Israel named a few other Indian restaurants in town, but most are owned by Jews who lived in India and returned to Israel, so they aren't always the most authentic.

It was on the square right near our hotel, where we had enjoyed La Shuk the first night, so we got to say goodbye to Tel Aviv and all its Bauhaus glory with another night of al fresco dining.

Off to Nazareth and Jerusalem tomorrow!