Caesarea and the Coastal Plain

This aerial view of the ancient harbor of Caesarea Maritima, looking from the Mediterranean sea toward the northeast, gives a feel of what the Coastal Plains are like. They are relatively flat and fertile from the rain runoff. The ports and cities that dot the coastline thrived on maritime trade and made control of the Coastal Plain strategically important. The city in this picture was built by Herod the Great in the 1st century BCE. Protruding from the coast into the sea is an artificial wave breaker that Herod's engineers devised to allow the ships to set anchor. On the coast to the right are the ancient ruins of the city of Caesarea.