Page 142 - Off the Tourist Trail - 1000 Unexpected Travel Alternatives (Part 1 of 2)

138 6 MORE AQUEDUCTS TO RIVAL PONT DU GARD

ARCHITECTURAL MARVELS
Segovia’s Roman Pontcysyllte Caesarea

Aqueduct, Aqueduct, Maritima, Israel
Spain Wales NEED TO KNOW

LOCATION This aqueduct is on $"&4"3&" )BJGB
NEED TO KNOW NEED TO KNOW Israel’s Mediterranean coast ."3*5*."
between Haifa and Tel Aviv 5FM "WJW
LOCATION The aqueduct "UMBOUJD 0DFBO LOCATION Part of the Llangollen DIMENSIONS Length: .FEJUFSSBOFBO
is located in Castilla y León, #JMCBP Canal, the aqueduct runs 4FB +FSVTBMFN
50 miles (83 km) north of between Froncysyllte "UMBOUJD 2,296 ft (700 m); height: 23 ft (7 m)
0DFBO
Madrid and Trevor &EJOCVSHI CONSTRUCTED 37 BC. *43"&-
4&(07*" #BSDFMPOB (MBTHPX /PSUI Another one was built circa AD 110
DIMENSIONS DIMENSIONS Length: 1,000 ft 6/*5&% 4FB +03%"/
Length: 2,394 ft (730 m); 10356("- .BESJE (305 m); height: 115 ft (35 m) ,*/(%0. DAYTIME &(:15
height: 95 ft (29 m) CONSTRUCTED *3&-"/% .BODIFTUFS TEMPERATURES
41"*/ Jan: 55°F (13°C); Apr: 66°F (19°C);
CONSTRUCTED AD 100 1795–1815 10/5$:4:--5& #JSNJOHIBN Jul: 81°F (27°C); Oct: 75°F (24°C) &JMBU
"26&%6$5
DAYTIME TEMPERATURES 4FWJMMF .FEJUFSSBOFBO DAYTIME -POEPO
Jan: 39°F (4°C); Apr: 55°F (13°C); 4FB TEMPERATURES Jan: 39°F (4°C);
Jul: 77°F (25°C); Oct: 55°F (13°C) Apr: 46°F (8°C); Jul: 63°F (17°C); Oct: 57°F (11°C)
There are few more seductive sights than
bronzed bodies playing beach volleyball against
The story goes that a young Segovian woman, Without doubt, this is Thomas Telford and William the backdrop of this Roman aqueduct, built by
tired of lugging water from the river, sold her soul Jessop’s finest work. Faced with the problem of Herod the Great for his new port of Caesarea
to the devil on condition that he would bring getting canal barges over the River Dee, the two Maritima. The lack of fresh water at the site forced
water right to her front door. When you see the engineers built a 115-ft- (35-m-) high aqueduct, the city’s architects to bring water from Mount
aqueduct he built for her (in truth built by the complete with a towpath and a sheer drop down Carmel. You can see traces of that aqueduct on
Romans), it’s hard not to believe that there is the other side. The water is carried along a cast- the road between Caesarea and Haifa and even
something of the devil in it. Not a drop of mortar iron trough perched on 19 hollow columns, all walk a section that goes beneath Mount Carmel
was used in the aqueduct’s construction, which bound together with a mortar of lime, water, almost 10 miles (17 km) away. However, the most
runs into the heart of Segovia. Made from 20,000 and ox blood. The aqueduct is still used by canal impressive section lies west of Caesarea, rolling
huge granite blocks sitting tightly on each other, boaters, and links the village of Froncysyllte with for several (interrupted) miles over golden sands
it is the world’s most spectacular 3-D jigsaw. its neighbor Trevor. The view over the River Dee, if and almost taking a dip in the Mediterranean.
you can bear to look, is magnificent.
Practical Information
Practical Information
Getting There and Around A 35-minute bullet train connects Segovia to Getting There and Around Caesarea Maritima is a 40-minute train ride
Madrid. There are regular buses as well. Several low-cost airlines also fly to Practical Information from both Tel Aviv and Haifa, but it’s a long walk to the area. You may want
nearby Valladolid, which has good bus and train connections to Segovia. Getting There and Around You can cruise across the aqueduct on a barge to consider an organized tour.
or narrow boat – the 41-mile (68-km) stretch of the Llangollen Canal
When to Go Perched at 3,280 ft (1,000 m) on the Spanish mesa, Segovia takes around 3 days. There is a regular bus service from Wrexham to Trevor, When to Go May and June offer the most pleasant temperatures and you
has extreme temperatures and is best visited in Jun–Sep.
which is a short walk from the aqueduct. Wrexham can be reached by train can swim in the white, sandy lagoons almost all year round. Avoid July
Website www.turismodesegovia.com from Cardiff and Birmingham. For those who would rather walk, Offa’s and August, the months of the major holidays in Israel, October festivals
Dyke, a long-distance footpath, also passes nearby. and Passover week (usually in April).
The spectacular Roman Aqueduct in Segovia, made from massive When to Go The canal is open year round but July to September is the best Website www.goisrael.com
blocks of granite simply stacked on top of each other time to visit. However, it can get very crowded in August.
Website www.canaljunction.com An arch of the Roman aqueduct at Caesarea Maritima, the civilian
and military capital of Judaea
A traditional narrowboat crossing the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct on the
Llangollen Canal

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