There's more to Caesarea Philippi than I thought!

The second thing I didn't expect to see at Caesarea Philippi was King Agrippa II's palace and an ancient city.

The walk there was gorgeous. We followed Hermon Stream from the grotto into the woods, and this North Ga girl's heart was soooooo happy! Forests, streams, and waterfalls—yes please!

Along the way, we passed some modern ruins, like a mill and a hydro-electric station. I was so thankful for the shade, the cold water to splash on my face, and excited for what we would discover. I've basically realized that pretty much any place you go on a tour, you've probably only seen a piece of the entire park. There just isn't enough time to see it all. So this was completely brand new to me!

Then, there we were: Agrippa's palace

He had a very sophisticated sewage system for his day.

The palace ruins actually span either side of a modern day highway!

And then, outside of the palace, there are ruins from the town, including a basilica (of course) and a synagogue.

High up on the mountain in the distance is Nimrod Fortress!

Inside the synagogue:

As we left this area of ruins and walked around the corner, we found the cardo (main street), which tells us this was a very big town. Now it's a nature reserve with ruins, but that's only what we can see. There's so much more underneath the surface (as always!).

At the end of the path, as we walked to the parking lot, we saw this building, another excellent example of how Israel builds on top of the old.

The sign explains how below this building and on the building itself are building materials dating back millennia. You can literally see the passage of time and the modernization of tools and resources as your eyes move towards the roof!

Wow, there was so much more to this park than I realized! I can't wait to go back and explore more... somewhere in the forest is a waterfall!