Open to the public since April 2016, Arabesque comprises two beautifully restored and renovated Ottoman buildings in the ancient city of Acre on the northern Mediterranean coast of Israel. The property is owned by the father-and-son team of Evan Fallenberg and Micha Fallenberg – Micha serves as manager of Arabesque – and is staffed by locals.
Nearly 300 years old but with some stones dating back nearly one thousand years to the Crusader period, Arabesque boasts two Great Halls – one with a baby grand piano – and chef’s kitchens for events; cozy courtyards and a trickling savil fountain; and seven rooms with unique features, like high vaulted ceilings, original stone walls, tile floors, antique furniture and artwork. All rooms have the amenities of a modern hotel room (TV, a/c, comfortable furnishings, a kitchenette).
Arabesque is situated in the very middle of the Old City and is less than five minutes’ walk to the suk (market), the Crusader Knights’ Hall, the Templar Tunnel, the Al Jazzar Mosque, the Turkish bathhouse, the port, and all the other major tourist attractions. The twisting alleyways and city ramparts are fun to wander at any hour, and we invite you to explore and lose yourself.
While Arabesque is a charming and unique place to spend a few nights and days in Acre, it is much more than just a small boutique hotel. It is our mission to have Arabesque serve the local community by making it a venue for cultural events; promote local talent, by hosting musical, literary, artistic and culinary events featuring local artists; welcome artists of all kinds from the city, the region and the world as they pursue artistic projects; and host private events of all kinds that promote dialogue through the arts.
The population of the Old City of Akko – a UNESCO World Heritage Site – is mostly Muslim, but the project itself has been a labor of love shared by Muslims, Jews and Christians alike. At Arabesque we view art and culture as a unifying factor, even – or especially – in a region of contention like the Middle East.
