I visited Acre last winter and discovered an enchanting port city where a long time ago East met West… in battle!
Join me as I tell you Acre’s story…
If you are considering a trip to Israel, I strongly recommend you rent a car and go there. It is but a half day drive from Tel Aviv, the landscape is astounding, the roads are easy to navigate, the weather – as always – is sunny, and half the drive rolls along the breathtaking Mediterranean Coast.
The Visitors Center is situated in the beautiful Sultan’s Gardens. You get headphones in any language you need and start your walk. It is a fantastic experience that takes you back through tens of different periods in history.
I urge you to visit the Hammam El Pasha, the Bathhouse. After exploring the magical alcoves, where men and women had been scrubbed clean and steamed to a crisp in saunas, you sit down to watch a funny historical docudrama about the family that ran the place for generations.
My favorite anecdote is when the son asks his father — the proud owner and chief attendant of the Hammam — why he is thrashing a poor customer with a hot towel. The father explains that if the customer is not screaming in agony, he must not be enjoying himself…
Did I mention the food is great? Get a sticky pistachio delight to chomp on while you’re strolling up and down the old alleyways, then dine in the superb restaurant on the beach, gazing at romantic ruins silhouetted by the sunset…
Acre’s History in a Nutshell…
In the 15th century BCE Old Acre first appears in the Egyptian cave writings – the curses of the kings of Egypt. The texts are written on clay tablets or vessels. When they were broken the curse came true.
The Israelite period:
Acre is incorporated in the Tribe of Asher.
701 BCE — Acre serves as a station on the northward journey of Sennacharib, King of Assyria.
333 BCE – Acre is occupied by Alexander the Great and the Greeks begin to settle it.
261 BCE – the ancient name of Acre is changed to Ptolomeus after Ptolemy the Second, ruler of Egypt.
The Hasmonean Period:
Acre is a Jewish settlement.
The Roman Period:
Acre is an important city of several religions.
66 – 68 AD – the Great Rebellion: 2000 Jewish citizens are murdered.
Acre constitutes the Romans’ point of contact with the West, where the legions are located in preparation for quelling the rebellion.
The Byzantine Period:
Acre is once again a city of various religions with a Christian population and its own bishop. It is considered a holy city because Saint Paul visited the first Christian communities there.
The Ancient Muslim Period:
640 AD – Acre is occupied by the Muslims.
9th century AD- Ibn Tilio renovates the port. Acre develops a Jewish community.
The Crusader Period:
1104 AD – Acre is occupied by the Crusaders and becomes a thriving trading center.
1187 AD – Sallah- A-Din captures Acre from the Crusaders.
1191 AD – King Richard the Lion Heart conquers Acre back from the Muslims and slaughters its inhabitants. You can see his name embossed on a large marble tablet, as well as the names of King Philip of France and their knights. Notwithstanding the gory tales, I was really excited to see his name there!
The late Muslim Period:
1291 AD – Acre is conquered by the Mamelukes and returns to Muslim rule. It becomes a minor parish for 400 years.
The Ottoman Period:
1743 AD – Rabbi Moshe Luzatto, the Ramhal, settles in Acre.
1750 AD – Dahar El-Omar, a Bedouin ruler who rebelled against the Turkish regime and conquered the entire Galilee, settles in Acre. He erects the walls and renovates the port.
1775 AD – The Turkish officer Ahmed El-Jazer becomes governor of the region. El-Jazer fortifies the walls, constructs a water conduit, and rebuilds Acre as a strong city.
1799 AD – The siege of Napoleon Bonaparte!
1804 AD - Suleiman Basha rules.
1831 – Ibrahim Ben Muhammad Ali Basha conquers the Land of Israel at the head of an Egyptian force, establishes himself in Acre, and continues to spread eastward. Acre becomes the Turkish Empire’s capital of the northern region of the Holy Land.
1840 – 1918 – A united British, Turkish, and Austrian navy shells Acre.
1918 – The Holy Land is conquered by the British. Acre loses its importance as a port city
1948 – The conquest of Acre by the Israeli Defense Forces.
Points of Interest
The Hospitaller Fortress: The origin of the Order of the Hospitallers (the Johnists), named after John the Baptist, is a charitable society, founded in Jerusalem in the year 1070 (at the end of the Arab Period) on the initiative of merchants from Amalfi, in Italy. The purpose of the Hospitallers was to host the Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land and to provide them with medical care. To this day, relics of their fortress stand erect, as well as streets named after Italian cities.
The Templars’ Tunnel:
In the 12th century, the Templar Order built its quarter in the south-western part of Acre. William of Tripoli, a Dominican friar who lived there in 1273 AD, describes the fortress in his book On the State of the Saracens:
“The Templar Fortress was the strongest one in the city and, in the main, abutted the sea line. Its entrance was protected by two strong towers with walls 28 feet thick. On either side of the towers two smaller towers were built and each tower was topped by a gilded lion.”
A tunnel led eastward from the fortress, the remains of which are now covered by the sea. Its lower part was carved from natural stone; its upper part was built from hewn stones covered by a semi-barreled dome. The tunnel transverses the Pisan Quarter and leads to the city port in the east, a distance of 350 meters. The tunnel was discovered in 1994. Before opening it to the public in September 1999, it was cleared of dirt, was installed with a system of pumps to maintain a fixed groundwater level and with lighting, and the wooden path was built.
The Turkish Bazaar:
It was completely deserted for a period of 450 years, since the year 1291, when the Crusaders were banished. After this period a new city was built on top of the remains of the Crusader city. The building was begun by a Bedouin ruler, Dahar Al-Omer (1750 – 1775) who established an independent kingdom in the Galilee and made Acre its capital. He renovated the city walls, cleaned the port and built his private palace in the city. In 1775 the city of Acre was attacked by an Egyptian Ottoman officer by the name of Ahmed Al-Jazar, who executed Dahar Al-Omer as a rebel against the Ottoman regime. Ahmed Al-Jazar carried on the work of Dahar Al-Omer and established Acre as the main commercial city of the entire region. During the period of Al-Jazar many mosques, bathhouses, khans and bazaars were built to serve the townspeople. The Turkish Bazaar was built at the end of the 18th century as a municipal market to serve the local population. The market was deserted in the year 1948 with the capture of the Old City by the Israeli Defense Forces, and opened recently as an artisans and artists bazaar. The bazaar now contains small shops specializing in the sale of souvenirs and objects d’art to tourists and is a happening place during the festival period.
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