Old Akko

Acre is a medium size town today. It has been used as a harbour all the way back to Phonecian times but was at its peak as the Crusader capital after Jerusalem was lost. Richard the Lionhearted recaptured it and it was the main poet if entry for trade and pilgrim traffic. It was a major city with a population over 50K at a time when London was 10K.

The tourist center of the city is entirely enclosed inside the very impressive intact walls. You can walk around on the walls and the portion on the south where they run right to the water's edge is particularly striking. Walls were here from antiquity but the Crusaders made it into a major Fortress. After their fall Acre was mostly abandoned for a few hundred years until one Ottoman governor decided to rebuild it as you see it today and make it the provincial capital. Acre then gained fame as the place where Napoleon was defeated and he gave up on conquering Asia. Very nice walk although it got hot in the sun.

The old city of Acre today is mainly Arab, and is an interesting maze of alleys and markets (and at least one falafel shop I found. Yum!)

Feel I had a good look around Acre, putting in 16,197 steps.Read more