Acre Attractions
From ancient times until the 19th century Akko (better known in English as Acre) was Palestine's leading port, and it has preserved an abundance of remains dating from the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The densely populated Old City, with its mosques, caravanserais, fortifications, Crusader buildings, bazaar and old harbor, is in striking contrast to the modern city of Haifa, only 23km/14mi away. Akko has an iron and steel works and chemical, ceramic and metalworking industries.
History
The history of Akko goes back to the Canaanite period. It was originally situated on Tell el- Fukhtar (2km/1.25mi east, near the stadium), on which excavations were carried out from 1973 onwards by an international team of archaeologists. Under Hellenistic and Persian occupation levels were revealed remains of a Canaanite settlement which the most recent findings suggest may have been occupied as early as 3000 B.C. The town was conquered by Pharaohs Tuthmosis III and Ramesses II, who recognized the strategic importance of its site. The Phoenicians who had settled here were deported in 640 B.C. by Assurbanipal. From 532 B.C. to the Greek conquest in 332 B.C. Akko was Persian. In 261, while under the sway of the Egyptian ruler Ptolemy II, it was renamed Ptolemais. In 219 it passed into the hands of the Seleucids, rulers of Syria, but was able to maintain its independence as a city-state. The Hasmoneans made two unsuccessful attempts to take Akko. In 30 B.C. Herod the Great received Octavian, the future Emperor Augustus, here, and later built a gymnasium in the town. In A.D. 67 Vespasian used Akko, along with Caesarea, as a base for his campaign in Palestine. The town also prospered in Byzantine times and, from the seventh century, under the Omayyads, when it was the port for the Ommayad capital of Damascus. The Crusaders were unable to take the town until 1104, five years after their conquest of Jerusalem. They renamed it St Jean d'Acre and built a palace and the massive vaulted structure known as the Crypt of St John (Acre was the headquarters of the Knights of St John). The Italian cities of Genoa, Pisa and Venice established trading posts in the town, and it developed into a busy and flourishing port town. In 1187 the Crusaders were compelled to surrender the town to Saladin, but it was recovered in 1191 by Richard Coeur de Lion. After the loss of Jerusalem in 1187 Acre became capital of the Crusader kingdom, with a population estimated at 50,000. In 1219 St Francis of Assisi visited the town and established a nunnery. In 1228 the Emperor Frederick II landed here during his Crusade, as did Louis IX of France in 1250 after his unsuccessful campaign against Damietta. Soon afterwards there was a bitter conflict, almost amounting to civil war, between the two religious orders, the Knights Hospitallers of St John and the Templars. In 1290 the Crusaders slaughtered large numbers of Muslims. When the Mameluke Sultan El-Ashraf Khalil captured the town in the following year he took his revenge, and the Crusader kingdom came to a bloody end after an existence of just under 200 years. After the destruction of the town it remained uninhabited for over 200 years, until its rebuilding by the Druze emir Fakhr ed-Din in the 17th century. Around 1750 it was enlarged by Daher el-Amr, and this process was continued by his murderer and successor Ahmed el-Jazzar (the "Butcher"), a native of Bosnia, who ruled as Pasha from 1775 to 1805. In 1799, with British help, he withstood a siege of the town by Napoleon. From 1833 to 1840 Akko was held by Ibrahim Pasha, who defeated the Turks in Palestine with his Egyptian forces but was compelled by the European powers to withdraw. In the latter part of the 19th century Akko lost its importance as a port to Beirut and then Haifa. When British forces captured the town from the Turks in 1918 it had a population of 8,000, most of them Arabs. In 1920 and again during the Second World War the British authorities used the Citadel as a prison for Jewish underground fighters. The town was occupied by Israeli troops on May 17th 1948.
History
The history of Akko goes back to the Canaanite period. It was originally situated on Tell el- Fukhtar (2km/1.25mi east, near the stadium), on which excavations were carried out from 1973 onwards by an international team of archaeologists. Under Hellenistic and Persian occupation levels were revealed remains of a Canaanite settlement which the most recent findings suggest may have been occupied as early as 3000 B.C. The town was conquered by Pharaohs Tuthmosis III and Ramesses II, who recognized the strategic importance of its site. The Phoenicians who had settled here were deported in 640 B.C. by Assurbanipal. From 532 B.C. to the Greek conquest in 332 B.C. Akko was Persian. In 261, while under the sway of the Egyptian ruler Ptolemy II, it was renamed Ptolemais. In 219 it passed into the hands of the Seleucids, rulers of Syria, but was able to maintain its independence as a city-state. The Hasmoneans made two unsuccessful attempts to take Akko. In 30 B.C. Herod the Great received Octavian, the future Emperor Augustus, here, and later built a gymnasium in the town. In A.D. 67 Vespasian used Akko, along with Caesarea, as a base for his campaign in Palestine. The town also prospered in Byzantine times and, from the seventh century, under the Omayyads, when it was the port for the Ommayad capital of Damascus. The Crusaders were unable to take the town until 1104, five years after their conquest of Jerusalem. They renamed it St Jean d'Acre and built a palace and the massive vaulted structure known as the Crypt of St John (Acre was the headquarters of the Knights of St John). The Italian cities of Genoa, Pisa and Venice established trading posts in the town, and it developed into a busy and flourishing port town. In 1187 the Crusaders were compelled to surrender the town to Saladin, but it was recovered in 1191 by Richard Coeur de Lion. After the loss of Jerusalem in 1187 Acre became capital of the Crusader kingdom, with a population estimated at 50,000. In 1219 St Francis of Assisi visited the town and established a nunnery. In 1228 the Emperor Frederick II landed here during his Crusade, as did Louis IX of France in 1250 after his unsuccessful campaign against Damietta. Soon afterwards there was a bitter conflict, almost amounting to civil war, between the two religious orders, the Knights Hospitallers of St John and the Templars. In 1290 the Crusaders slaughtered large numbers of Muslims. When the Mameluke Sultan El-Ashraf Khalil captured the town in the following year he took his revenge, and the Crusader kingdom came to a bloody end after an existence of just under 200 years. After the destruction of the town it remained uninhabited for over 200 years, until its rebuilding by the Druze emir Fakhr ed-Din in the 17th century. Around 1750 it was enlarged by Daher el-Amr, and this process was continued by his murderer and successor Ahmed el-Jazzar (the "Butcher"), a native of Bosnia, who ruled as Pasha from 1775 to 1805. In 1799, with British help, he withstood a siege of the town by Napoleon. From 1833 to 1840 Akko was held by Ibrahim Pasha, who defeated the Turks in Palestine with his Egyptian forces but was compelled by the European powers to withdraw. In the latter part of the 19th century Akko lost its importance as a port to Beirut and then Haifa. When British forces captured the town from the Turks in 1918 it had a population of 8,000, most of them Arabs. In 1920 and again during the Second World War the British authorities used the Citadel as a prison for Jewish underground fighters. The town was occupied by Israeli troops on May 17th 1948.
Akko - Townscape
The most interesting part of Akko is the walled Old City with its Arab and Oriental atmosphere. Outside the massive town walls are extensive residential areas in plain and unpretentious style developed since the Israeli conquest. Ancient Akko (Tell el-Fukhtar) lies 2km/1.25mi east of the Old City. To the southeast of the Old City extends a long sandy beach (Argaman Beach), with a number of large hotels and restaurants.
The sights of the Old City are described in the form of a walk round the town.
The sights of the Old City are described in the form of a walk round the town.
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Akko - Ahmed el-Jazzar Mosque
This is the largest mosque in Akko, and was built in 1781 by Ahmed el-Jazzar.
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Akko - Crusader City
Beneath the citadel built by Ahmed el-Jazzar is the Crusader City, buildings of the Knights of St John. The site was excavated in the 1950s and 60s.
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Lohamei Hageta'ot
The museum contains collections and documents related to Nazi concentration camps, and features special anniversary exhibits on April 19th.
Akko - Citadel
From the wall beyond the sea wall in Akko a little street leads to the entrance to Ahmed el-Jazzar's Citadel (18th century), which was used during the British Mandate as a prison. A memorial room with a collection of photographs and documents commemorates the Jewish underground fighters who were imprisoned or executed here by the British authorities.
Akko - Khan of the Columns
A little way south of the Khan of the Franks in Akko is the Khan el-Umdan ("Khan of the Columns"), so called because of the granite and porphyry columns which Ahmed el-Jazzar brought from Caesarea when building this khan on the site of the Crusaders' Dominican monastery. Over the north entrance is a clock-tower commemorating Sultan Abdul Hamid's jubilee in 1906.
Akko - Municipal Museum
Opposite the Crusader city in Akko is the entrance to the Municipal Museum, housed in the old Pasha's Baths (Hammam el-Basha) which were built by Ahmed el-Jazzar in 1780 and remained in use until 1947. The numerous rooms, mostly quite small, house a number of permanent exhibitions on the history of the town and surrounding area - collections of archeological finds from Akko, Islamic art, costumes, weapons and other material, together with photographs illustrating more recent history.
Akko - St George's Church
From the Khan esh-Shuna in Akko a street runs north to the Greek Orthodox church of St George, which is built on medieval foundations. There is a memorial tablet to Major Oldfield, a British officer killed during Napoleon's siege of Acre.
Akko - Tower of the Vine
Returning from the church of St George in Akko to the sea wall and following it northward, we come, at the northwest corner of the walls, to the Burj Kurajim (Tower of the Vine), a Turkish bulwark against attack from the sea built on foundations dating from the Crusader period.
Bahji
3km/2mi north of Akko, on the east side of the road to Nahariya, are the Persian Gardens of Bahji. In these beautifully laid out gardens is the shrine containing the remains of Baha Ullah ("Glory of God"; 1817-92), founder of the Bahai faith. He was exiled to Akko in 1868 and spent the last years of his life in the red-roofed house which is also in the gardens.
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