ISRAEL

ISRAEL
The Old City of Akko

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Akko, Mediterranean Sea, Port City

One could have knocked themselves out cold if their torches would have gone out. Grateful for modern day lighting, the Templar tunnel  is doable these days for even those of us that were over 5' 7" tall.  This strategic underground passageway, links the fortress, a UNESCO World Heritage Site,  with the port on the Mediterranean Sea. The tunnel is 350m long.  Sections are cut in natural stone and others, the upper section, is comprised of hewn stone.  A tripod is necessary to get a respectable picture of this tunnel.
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Records of the first mention of this port date back to 527-525 BC.  It became an international port city during the reign of Ptolemais 11 in 285-246 BC. In its walls and court yards have walked Canaanites, Romans, Turks, Crusaders, British and now with our visit, Americans.  Prisoners have been chained to stone walls and religious services held in its great halls.  The history of the Old City of Akko is being unearthed and what a story it is telling.
Submitted by Bernadette Heath, photographer and writer, Janet Webb Farnsworth, writer of "Grandma Needs a Four-Wheel Drive, Adventure Travel for Seniors. www.grandmaneedsafour-wheeldrive.com