The HamamaLlamas visit a bunch of old stuff

Are you ready hevreh*??
Aye aye Captain

Who lives in some ruins down by the sea
Cea sareans Cea sareans
Old and stony and powerful is he
Cea sareans Cea sareans
They were really powerful but then lost some wars
Cea sareans Cea sareans
Owned by the Romans, they had the best port
READY
Cea sareans Cea sareans
Cea sareans Cea sareans
Cea sareans Cea sareans

*hevreh is kind of like saying "guys" in Hebrew

Today, Noam, Yair, and the HamamaLlamas went to Caesarea, the ruins down by the "cea", a tourist sight on the Mediterranean coast. Israel being a religious country, and Saturday being a religious day, public transportation was closed, as were most stores. Rayna tried on the loveliest (/sarcasm) hat, chosen specially by Claire. Rayna also tried to play with a cat, although it just ran away.

The GORGEOUS HamamaLlamas stare into the sun
Caesarea is a sight of ruins, filled with history from the Jews, the Romans, the Christians, the Muslims, and then the Jews again. There are bits and pieces of each era scattered about. I consider Boston's history to be old, as a city that predates the existence of the United States of America. But Caesarea, first inhabited around 10 BCE, predates Christianity itself.

The Mediterranean Sea!!!!!

The amphitheater, where they used to hold plays

A recovered fountain

The Mediterranean!!!! Again!!!!!

We watched a film about Caesarea's history, spoke to holograms with people like Pontius Pilate and King Herod, and saw lots of old rocks. Once upon a time, these old rocks hosted violent chariot races, theaters, and fancy baths. They made the walls of palaces and catered to the feet of royalty; now they stand as broken monuments, and dust. But even in their ruins, they were magnificent.

Fun engineering fact! A massive part of Caesarea's success as a port was due to a man-made seawall. Built long before people were capable of moving large rocks long-distance, they had to rely on wit and ingenuity. They floated large wooden crates out to their predetermined locations, and filled them with roman concrete. It solidified underwater, and created breakers, upon which a port could be built. This was done with remarkable rapidity, even by today's standards.

The HamamaLlamas then went to an Arabic restaurant with Noam and Yair and ate a ton of food-- hummus (which is different from hummus in the U.S. -- it has no added flavors),  shawarma, chicken, salads (like baba ganoush, spicy eggplant with tomato, cucumber and tomato salad, cauliflower salad, and some cabbage with vinegar thing), pita, and some coffee. For dessert were some coconut baklava things.  

All in all, a good day. 

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