Akko (Acre)

Akko is at least four thousand years old. In many historical periods this port city on the Mediterranean was of great importance. When the Crusaders invaded Palestine, they made Acre (under such a name Akko was known in the Middle Ages) their capital. But after two hundred years the Crusaders were defeated, the city was ruined, and only in the late 18th century Acre was rebuilt and became a centre of a Turkish province. The governor of Acre, known as Al Jazzar, is credited with fortifying the city and preventing its takeover by Napoleon's army.

The walls, built by Al Jazzar, still surround the old city. Walking over the wall, we could see cannons, which are two centuries old.

Maybe the most attractive in the old city of Akko (Acre) are Knights' halls. The Crusader quarters were abandoned when the crusaders left, and later covered by dirt. The excavations of the (now underground) Crusader city began in 1950s and continue today, but in the area already open to visitors are vaulted halls where Crusaders actually lived, and a section of the tunnel which led outside of the city. The complex also includes Turkish baths from Al Jazzar's time.

The Al Jazzar mosque stands near the entrance to the subterranean complex. After seeing the mosque, which was built on the remains of a Crusader monastery, we descended the stairs in the yard of the mosque. The stairs lead to big, sometimes flooded, halls of the monastery.

Another interesting site in Akko is outside the Old City: Baha'i gardens. The Holy Land is the world centre of Baha'i faith, since the founder of the religion, Baha'u'llah, was sent to Akko by Turkish authorities, died in Akko in 1892 and was buried there. Baha'ullah was imprisoned in the citadel of Akko, part of which served as prison in the past. His burial place, the Baha'i shrine, is surrounded by beautiful gardens. The entrance to the gardens is 2 km north of Akko, from the Akko-Naharia highway. Note that in Haifa there are some Baha'i gardens too.