Middle East - Anthony Ham [242]
Sights & Activities
The Caesarea National Park ( 636 1358; adult/child 23/12NIS; 8am-5pm),contains the remains of a Crusader city, with its citadel and harbour. Beyond the walls to the north stretch the beachfront remains of an impressive Roman aqueduct. A hippodrome lies to the south, and beyond this, a reconstructed Roman amphitheatre, which serves as a modern-day concert venue. It makes a great wander, especially for children who can clamber the ruins to their hearts’ content; look out for the colonies of squabbling bats that roost in the ancient archways. There are several restaurants, cafés and shops on site, so you can take a break from your explorations for a leisurely waterfront lunch.
Getting There & Away
From Tel Aviv, take any bus headed north along the coastal road towards Khadera, where you can disembark and connect with bus 76 to Caesarea. Coming from Haifa, get off at the Caesarea intersection and hike the last 3.5km to the site. Alternatively, take the train to Binyamina from Tel Aviv (22NIS, 45 minutes) or Haifa (17.50NIS, 30 minutes) and pick up a taxi for the last 7km.
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AKKO (ACRE)
04 / pop 45,900
Akko, a Unesco World Heritage–rated stonewalled fortress town on the Mediterranean, is small but perfectly formed. Here, you can wander narrow alleyways and explore vaults, ramparts and towers, with barely a trace of tourist-orientated tat. Unlike Old Jaffa further south, Old Akko’s beautiful stone houses remain homes to local families rather than well-heeled artists, and its souq and quays are still home to fishermen, rather than boutiques and gentrified cafés.
History
Akko is the Crusader city of Acre, under whom it rose to prominence as a port, receiving ships from as far afield as Venice and Amalfi, and playing host to a young Marco Polo on his way to the court of Khublai Khan. Its modern history has ensured it retains many of the features Polo himself might have observed: during the Jewish immigration of the 1930s, Akko was a hotbed of Arab hostility, meaning that few Jews chose to settle in the Old City. Since then, things have remained pretty much the same, and Old Akko remains a predominantly Arab place.
Orientation
From the bus and train stations, it’s roughly a 2km walk to Old Akko. From the bus station, exit to the left on Derekh HaArba’a St and continue one long block to the traffic lights. There, turn right (west) onto Ben Ami St. After two blocks turn left onto Weizmann St and you’ll see the city walls ahead. The train station is about 300m further east from the bus station.
Information
Public Library ( 9am-7pm Sun-Thu, 9am-3pm Fri) Located 200m north of the old city walls, the library offers internet access for 7NIS per 30 minutes.
Tourist office ( 995 6707; www.akko.org.il; 1 Weizmann St; 8.30am-6pm Sat-Thu & 8.30am-5pm Fri in summer, 8.30am-5pm Sat-Thu & 8.30am-3pm Fri in winter) Located north of the Festival Garden, inside the Crusader Citadel, the tourist office can arrange guided tours, boat trips and offers lots of info on Akko and around.
Sights
OLD AKKO
A visit to Old Akko begins by stepping through city walls built by Ahmed Pasha al-Jazzar in 1799 following Napoleon’s thwarted attempt to capture Akko. Immediately, you’ll be thrust back, time-machine–like, into another century.
The 1781 Al-Jazzar Mosque (admission 6NIS; 8am-5pm Sat-Thu, 8-11am & 1-5pm Fri), with its green, Turkish dome and minaret, is the dominant element on the Akko skyline. North of the mosque is the rambling Citadel, built by the Turks in the 17th century on 13th-century Crusader foundations. Here you’ll find the tourist office where you can buy a great