Israel Travel Diary: Akko (Acre) In Photos

There are many places in Israel that I wouldn’t mind visiting again and spending more time to explore. Mediterranean coastal city Akko (Acre) is one of them.

Steeped in medieval crusader history, The Old City of Akko is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the oldest ports in the world.

Wish I had more time to wander through these wonderfully decorated little alleyways, admire the well preserved stone architecture, try all the colourful deserts in the market, enjoy the sea breeze by the harbour and take more pictures of EVERYTHING.

As we rushed through the sites with our tour guides, I quickly took a snap of the map of Akko old city for future reference.

Here are some photos of major sites:

The harbour

The Citadel – Built on ruins of the Crusaders fortress

The Crusader City – inside and underneath Citadel

Map of The Crusader City

The court yard

From the court yard going underground

Underground Knight Halls

The Hall of Pillars

In the 17th century, a traveller who visited Acre (Akko) wrtoe on a staircase located on the western facade of the Pillared Hall:

“We descend a broad and magnificent staircase all made of stone, wide enough to allow eight persons to walk side by side. Below there are spacious and beautiful halls, supported by large, strong columns…”

I guess this is the said staircase, obviously tourists are no longer allowed to walk on them for preservation purposes.

The stone staircase

Khan al-Umdan

View to clock town out side Khan al-Umdan

Ahmed Al-Jazzar

Walls and fortifications!

Shame I didn’t have time to go along the coast and enjoy the full view of the walls that wrap around the old city from outside. But hey, I made it to Akko all the way from Australia!