Akko

On Monday, we went to the ancient city of Akko (Acre in English), about 30 minutes north of Haifa by train. Akko is a very strategic port that has been ruled by Canaanites, Phoenicians, Alexander the Great, the Greeks, the Romans, the Crusaders, Saladin -- even Napoleon tried to capture it but failed.

Today, the remains of the citadel of Akko are from the original Ottoman fortification, built on the foundation of the older Crusader Hospitaller citadel. The citadel was part of the city's defensive formation, reinforcing the northern wall. During the 20th century the citadel was used mainly as a prison and as the site for a gallows. During the British mandate period, activists of Jewish Zionist resistance movements were held prisoner there; some were executed there. This was the basis for Leon Uris' book "Exodus."

These still remain in the citadel of Akko, and we walked through most of them:

• Ottoman fortifications (including a tower and moat)
• The Acre Old City Visitor Center, built right into the ancient walls
• The "enchanted garden": a garden planted in keeping with the historical description of the Crusader garden that existed there
• British prison and the gallows
• A museum and memorial to the Jewish resistance fighters executed during the British Mandate
  
• Prison cell of Bahá'u'lláh, founder of the Bahá'í Faith
• Knights' Halls, including a dungeon and a refectory
• The Templars Tunnels, used as escape routes in times of war

Akko also has many mosques, walled plazas built by the sultans, Arab souks, and a beautiful little synagogue named after the Italian sage Rabbi Moshe Haim Luzatto, known by his acronym the Ramhal, who arrived in Akko in 1743. He was a student of the Kabbala, very controversial in his time (he was chased out of many cities because of his teachings), who has since become very revered for his brilliant writings. The shul features an underground bima (which the caretaker very kindly let the boys climb down into), as well as as an original Torah scroll written by the Ramhal in pomegranate juice on deerskin -- it took him a year to write it, working 8 hours a day. You can see the dark scrolls in the photo below. The shul was fascinating -- one of the highlights of our trip.