ISRAEL, HAIFA (day 110)

HAIFA is the 3rd largest city in Israel. It is a natural, industrial port, diverse in landscapes & seascapes. Haifa like other cities in ISRAEL is multicultural & relaxed. It has a population of 1 million people.

This morning we visited THE OLD CITY OF AKKO, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There we discovered it's twofold secrets those above ground & those below. Below there is preserved CRUSADER CITY being unearthed and brought back to life, located directly under the city above it.

The port was 1st mentioned in relation to the Greek Campaign to conquer EGYPT in 527-525 BC. The port was actually built in 285-246 BC, during the reign of Ptolemaic II. Then AKKO became the gateway to ISRAEL and an international port city.

In the 13th century AKKO became the capital of the Crusader Kingdom in the Holy Land. After the Ottoman conquest the port was neglected, & reduced to a fisherman's harbor.

During the British Mandate, the AKKO FORTRESS served as the main prison for the north of the country.

When the OTTOMAN ruler of AKKO, Ahmed al-Jazzar, decided to build a citadel & a palace on the site, he had the Hospitalers building filled with earth. The Hospitalers were a monastic military order, who occupied the Fortress, established to treat the sick in the Holy Land.

WHEN THE BRITISH RULED  THE FORTRESS WAS A PRISON FOR THE NORTH COUNTRY  

PRISONERS HALL DOZENS OF SQUARE HOLES IN THE WALL INDICATE THAT PRISONERS WERE SECURED HEREWITH CHAINS

POINTED ARCHES COMING FROM BROAD PILASTERS THAT COME OUT OF THE WALLS 

COURTYARDS AND ROOMS FILL THE STREETS SERVING AS SHOPS

NORTHERN HALL A LARGE EXPANSE DIVIDED INTO 6 HALLS WITH ARCHED OPENINGS

PUBLIC TOILETS

30 TOILET CUBICLES ON EACH OF ITS 2 FLOORS 

A NETWORK OF CHANNELS DRAINED THE TOILETS TO THE CENTRAL SEWER IN THE CITY

A VIDEO OF A FUNERAL PROCESSION PROJECTED ON THE WALL

1 OF 2 GRAVES FOUND HERE EVEN THOUGH ITS WAS NOT KNOWN TO BE A TOMB

THE TUNNEL THE BOTTOM SECTION EXTENDS FROM THE TEMPLAR FORTRESS THE PORT 350 M. AN UNDERGROUND PASSAGEWAY FROM THE FORTRESS TO THE PORT

AKKO PORT

WOODY HAVING A GREAT HUMMUS ON PITA IN THE MARKET ON THE STREETS ABOVE THE HIDDEN CITY

SHOP IN THE PALESTINIAN MARKETPLACE BUILT ABOVE THE HIDDEN CITY

MOSTLY PALESTINIAN FAMILIES LIVE IN THE OLD CITY OF AKKO

ME & A 25 YR. OLD SOLDIER WHO IS GUARDING THE BOARDER WITH LEBANON

BAHA'I GARDENS

The BAHA'I faith moved to ISRAEL from another ARAB country where their  style of religion was persecuted. We spoke to a young girl who was volunteering there and she smiled broadly when she said that she loved ISRAEL, as well as her faith.

Two days before we arrived in ISRAEL we heard that there was a bomb! Even though the passengers were somewhat intimidated our ship was not cancelled and we docked in AS HOD as scheduled. We met or guide in the parking lot, as usual, and when we drove for a while we were amazed that we did not have to stop at any check points or that were not surrounded by armed motor cade as we were in the ARAB & INDONESIAN countries that we had visited. We noted as well, that the ARABS are so much better off in ISRAEL than in other parts of the world that it cannot be compared.

When I asked our guide how come there is no obvious police presence like in the other countries that we visited he reassured me that the ISRAELIS have extremely good intelligence as well as the most modern technologies. He went on to say that yes, every now &  then a radical will cause problems  but that the government works 24/7 to keep the country safe.

While I am on the subject of our guide I would like to take a moment to tell you how our guide most certainly helped us make the most of the 2 days that we had in ISRAEL. He was knowledgeable, informative and after listening to us he took us to two see what we were interested in. There is no question that we will schedule him to work with us when we return  to ISRAEL. Should you need a guide in ISRAEL that you can depend on his name is Arik Tomer he speaks English, Arabic, French & Hebrew. Email tomertours4u@gmail.com

  WE ARE HOPING TO RETURN TO ISRAEL IN THE NEAR FUTURE