March 01, 2013
Daily pic #44: Basking in the sun
The 2000 years old hippodrome in Caesaria, Israel, was built by king Herod for the Roman chariot
races.
The hippodrome could seat 20,000 spectators, and was the second largest in
the Roman world, after the Circus Maximus in Rome.
The seats at the opposite ends of the hippodrome were reserved for the king and nobility, since this was where the chariots made sharp turns and were more likely to crash, causing splinters and blood to spray everywhere, which, naturally, was the most exciting part of the races.