Caesarea

Caesarea, Israel

Sunlight strikes the weathered stone tiers of the Roman theatre at Caesarea Maritima with the sea beyond.

Caesarea is a calm coastal resort town where Roman port ruins, a seaside theatre and a quiet beach sit side by side.

The place

Caesarea is an affluent resort town on the Israeli coastal plain, roughly halfway between Tel Aviv and Haifa. It lies just north of the ancient port it takes its name from, Caesarea Maritima, and the two are close enough to walk between. The modern town has a population of about 5,300 and sits about 20 metres above sea level, so it feels flat, green and unhurried compared with the big cities on either side.

The character is suburban. Many residents commute to work in Tel Aviv or Haifa, and the town is divided into named residential zones called clusters. The newest, Cluster 13, is known as the Golf Cluster because it lies beside the Caesarea Golf Course, which Wikivoyage describes as the only golf course in Israel. On the edge of town the Caesarea Business Park holds about 170 companies, mostly in distribution and high-technology services.

Day to day the town has the feel of a planned community: a shopping concourse with a supermarket, bank, optician and newsagent, and cafes and restaurants scattered around, some inside the old port. Most visitors come for the beaches, the ruins and the summer concerts rather than for nightlife. The pace is relaxed and the atmosphere comfortable, with more traffic at weekends and in the warmer months.

Its story

The modern town takes its name from Caesarea Maritima, a major port that Herod the Great built in the decades before the turn of the era. He named it in honour of the emperor, and under Roman rule it became the administrative centre of the province of Syria Palaestina. Its harbour handled shipping, and its theatre, aqueduct and grand buildings made it a showpiece of the coast.

Later the city became the capital of the Byzantine province of Palaestina Prima. The Arab conquests of the seventh century changed its fortunes. The provincial capital moved inland to Ramla, and the coastal city shrank to a village with an Arab majority. Crusaders took it and restored it as a fortified port, before Mamluk rule reduced it again.

By the nineteenth century the site was a partly demolished archaeological ruin. In 1884 Ottoman authorities settled Muslim families from Herzegovina, who had left Austria-Hungary, on the ruins, and they came to share the local Arab culture. In 1940 the kibbutz Sdot Yam was founded beside the village. In February 1948 a Palmach unit under Yitzhak Rabin took the village, after Lehi militants had attacked a bus. Later, the Rothschild family transferred most of its land holdings in the area to the new state, and the modern town grew on that land.

What to see

Culture

Caesarea Maritima's Roman theatre is the town's cultural stage. Major Israeli and international acts have performed there, from Israeli singers and rock bands to jazz and world musicians. The Caesarea Jazz Festival, held at the beginning of June, gives the coast a lively run of evenings, and the International Opera Festival adds to the calendar. Concert nights draw crowds, so buying tickets early is sensible for a popular act.

The Ralli Museum holds a substantial collection of Spanish and Latin American art alongside several original works by Salvador Dalí, which makes it a good option on a windy or wet afternoon. The town itself is calm and suburban, with most residents commuting out for work. Just north lies the village of Jisr az-Zarqa, where the everyday rhythm is different from the resort front and where people go about their daily lives without the crowds of the beaches.

Social life varies between neighbourhoods, and the coastal strip is where people relax at weekends. When you walk through Jisr az-Zarqa, dress modestly and ask before photographing anyone in the street.

What to wear

Caesarea has no costume tradition of its own that visitors are likely to see today. The older communities nearby are mostly Arab, with long histories of everyday clothing shaped by the climate and by religious custom. In villages such as Jisr az-Zarqa, traditional women's dress has been loose and long-sleeved, often with a head covering, while men have worn simple long trousers and shirts. Cotton and linen have always suited the coastal heat.

Day-to-day wear in Caesarea is coastal and casual. Residents dress for work in office clothes and wear shorts and sandals on the beach. People dress up a little for concerts at the Roman theatre, where evening wear is common, though no formal dress code applies.

For a visit, pack light, breathable clothing for the coast, a thin layer for cooler evenings, and a hat and sunglasses for the ruins, where shade is limited. Cover shoulders and knees when walking through the village or visiting any religious site. Bring closed shoes with good grip for the uneven stone paths of the national park, and a swimsuit with a cover-up for the beach.

What to eat

Plan it

Best time. December to February are the most comfortable months on this coast, with daytime highs of about 25 to 29 °C, though they are also the wettest. Summer is hot and busier, and the Caesarea Jazz Festival at the start of June is worth planning around if you like live music.

How long. 2–3

Getting there. Fly into Tel Aviv, then take an intercity bus. Bus 910 runs about hourly from Tel Aviv to the Or Akiva interchange on Route 2, and from there it is a walk of about 20 minutes west to the ruins. Buses 9, 76 and 80 stop at the ruins but are slow and infrequent.

Budget. mid

Tips

Etiquette

Nearby

Sources