50m wide and six times as long, this hippodrome was originally built by Herod the Great. It was originally used for the city's entertainment ranging from chariot racing to athlete events. Rows of seats line the southern and eastern side, providing the audience with a spectacular view of the games against the background of the sea.
Here Herod inaugurated the new city in 11 BC with a festivities of games. When a new hippodrome was constructed further to the east in the 2nd Cent AD so that this one was no longer needed for equestrian sports, a wall was built across the hippodrome turning it into an amphitheatre.