Carl Rasmussen
Carl Rasmussen is Professor Emeritus of Old Testament at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota. He received his Ph.D. in Ancient Near Eastern Studies from Dropsie University (now the Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania). Dr. Rasmussen has spent 16 years of his adult life living in Israel, Jordan, Greece, and Turkey, where he taught and led academic study programs. Since his retirement from Bethel University, Dr. Rasmussen has continued to teach and lead adult study tours in Turkey, Greece, and Israel. Each year he spends time in Jerusalem, where he is Adjunct Professor at the Jerusalem University College.
He is the author of The Zondervan Atlas of the Bible (2010) and The Zondervan Essential Atlas of the Bible (2013). He has created and maintains the web site www.HolyLandPhotos.org that features over 5,150 free high-resolution images of Israel, Turkey, Greece, Malta, Jordan, Italy and elsewhere."
Presenter at
Spring Bible & Archaeology Fest 2022, April 2 – 3, 2022
Caesarea by the Sea: An In-Depth Virtual Tour of Herod’s Grand Port City
Led by Holy Land educator and host Carl Rasmussen
Herod the Great, the ancient world’s master builder, constructed a magnificent port city on the Mediterranean coast of Roman Palestine. He called it Caesarea Maritima (Caesarea “by the Sea”) in honor of his Roman patron Caesar Augustus. Completed at the end of the first century B.C.E., Caesarea Maritima had all the elements of a major Roman city and more, including streets laid out in the standard Roman grid plan, a palace, forum, theater, temples, and an elaborate harbor complex. More than 2,000 years later, the site’s impressive archaeology and preservation provides visitors with stunning views onto one of the greatest cities of the Roman Mediterranean.
This illustrated virtual tour, led by renowned Holy Land scholar and frequent BAS tour host Carl Rasmussen, will give you an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at Caesarea’s most famous and best-preserved attractions, including:
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Caesarea’s 5,000-seat Roman-style theater
Herod’s luxurious Promontory Palace overlooking the sea
The Western Hippodrome, site of chariot races and spectacles
Caesarea’s massive manmade harbor, the largest of its day
One of the region’s best-preserved Roman aqueducts
Your visit will also include guided stops at some of Caesarea’s more spectacular but less-frequented archaeological sites and discoveries, including:
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the underground temple to the Roman mystery god Mithras
Bathhouses and stunning mosaics
The Eastern Hippodrome
Site museum and interpretive center
Finds and artifacts on display in the Israel Museum
