Where is Roberg?

Great cities with a long, rich, and proud history such as New York, Charleston, Boston, and Savanna are unique in the United States. Except for the oldest, most American cities are less than 200 years old, and it’s hard to find a building that is more than 75 years old unless you know where to look. Even the oldest settlement in the United States, Jamestown, just recently had its 400 year celebration. (I’m not discounting Native American settlements, but to my understanding there were no true cities.) Thankfully, our wonderful towns (Coxsackie, Athens, etc.) are exceptions. In fact, if you have never been to the Bronck House, make sure you put it on your list. (I shamefully admit that I only visited this worthwhile gem for the first time this past summer, after calling Coxsackie home for over thirty years!)

Compare any city in North America to Rome, Alexandria, or Jerusalem, which are each over 2000 years old and our cities seem like mere infants. Because of our geography, I believe it’s hard for Americans appreciate the impact of growing up surrounded by history.

On the other hand, when you visit Israel or any other country with thousands years of written history, it’s almost impossible to find a city that doesn’t have an incredible story. Fortunes of entire families that had been living in the same city for a dozen generations or more were influenced by epic swings in power over hundreds of years. More often than not, a city would be destroyed, only to be rebuilt by the conquerors.

Caesarea – Roman, Byzantine, Muslim, Crusader, and Today

Roman Baths Overlooking Ocean

As an ancient city, Caesarea began as a grand vision of a successful king, King Herod. During early Roman times, when the Roman legions were conquering people all around the Mediterranean, Herod chose to build a city along the coast of the Mediterranean to act as a hub for trade and dedicate it to the first emperor of Rome, Caesar Augustus. Usually, trading cities are built by natural harbors which protect docking boats from the pounding waves of the ocean. Since there were no good natural harbors along the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean, Herod decided to build a man-made one. He envisioned a prosperous city that the Romans would allow to remain under his control.

To make his vision become a reality, he funded a project in which large wooden crates, approximately the size of a container pulled behind an 18 wheel truck on the Thruway, would be floated out to an area in along the coast. When it was in place, it was filled with a type of sand that acted like concrete when it came into contact with water, and became like rock, sinking to the bottom. After doing this a number of times, a protective port was formed and a foundation for a pier that provided a reason for the fledgling city to exist.

Just as King Herod envisioned, Caesarea developed into a prosperous trading port. Roman baths were created, and Roman meccas entertainments (preoccupation) such as a chariot stadium (hippodrome), baths, and a theater were built. Caesarea was an important city for Jews as well. St. Paul, who had traveled the Mediterranean in order to convert Jews (and gentiles) to Christianity, was even imprisoned in the city.

Overlooking the Hippodrome, where chariot races took place

Although we Americans often think of Roman times in Italian or European terms, their entire empire felt their influence. From England to Caesarea, from North Africa to Central Europe, the Roman way of life penetrated and dominated. Knowledge was exchanged, and cultures intermixed; something that all 9^th and 10^th graders know as cultural diffusion happened. (For those former students of mine, you knew I couldn’t get through an entire blog without mentioning my favorite term, did you?! J )

As I walked through the ruins, it reminded me of my time in Rome and Istanbul. Regardless of the country, it reminded me that the Roman way of life reigned supreme.

Filed under: Israel, Travel