El Marsa Restaurant is located in the harbor of the port of Akko, in a building built by the Crusaders in 1210. Today the building combines the old and new, representing both the ancient and historic past alongside a peaceful and pleasant modern atmosphere. The large glass windows in the restaurant overlook the breathtaking view of Acre with boats, fishermen, and the beautiful walls of the Old City in sight. The restaurant offers its guests a varied menu of fish and seafood, meat and vegetarian dishes, from the daily lure of the nearby market, in the personal and creative interpretation of the young chef Alaa Musa.
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Omri Avidar
Omri Avidar is a licensed tour guide, expert on trips in the Galilee. Omri, who served for many years as a manager and vice president in the high-tech field, made a professional transition and devoted himself to his great love – to travel and guide. Since then, Omri has often traveled and guided groups and tourists throughout the Galilee: in a wide variety of trips and activities, including nature trips, ethnic trips in the cities and villages of the Galilee and formation activities.
Over the years, Omri has gained an intimate acquaintance with the Galilee trails and especially with the people of the Galilee. His trips are always immersed in human encounters, tasting and a relaxed and fun atmosphere.
Old Akko is the focus of Omri’s activities and here he knows every corner and is known by many. The tours with Omri in Akko expose the participants to the hidden “back alleys” of the city and meetings with inspiring people and fascinating local stories. He has several other specialized tours for photographers and those interested in experiencing Akko through food.
Eliyahu Tzur
Tzur Tours, a company with a family atmosphere, was founded by Eliyahu Tzur, based on his vast experience as a qualified tour guide. Our expertise is in organized tours for small and medium-sized groups as well as private tours. Our aim is to connect you to this wonderful country, to maximize your experience, and this with good quality service and at competitive prices.
Akko (Acre) Israel is an old city with a natural port at the northern tip of Haifa Bay. This natural port, standing at the end of the mainland route linking the wealth of the east with the Mediterranean Sea,has made Akko strategically important for thousands of years. As you wander through the old city, you are surrounded by buildings, tunnels, and walls, all from different periods in history.
Akko, especially the old city, is blessed with many attractions including the Inn of columns, the Knights Hospitaller wholes, The ancient fortifications, a colorful market and much more. Akko’s fabulous local market with the charm of an old city, don’t miss ou the excellent baklava sweets shop at the market!
Across from the mosque, you can walk down several levels and see how the Turks built many levels over the Crusaders city. The Knights’ Hall is the most beautiful of all, which was used by the Crusaders for ceremonies. Today the main hall is used for concerts.
Acre Old City Market
The Crusader city of Acre lies on the Mediterranean coast just north of Haifa. It is one of the most beautiful ancient cities in Israel with a hidden Crusader city beneath the ground and the 18th century Old City above ground. One of the most exciting things to do in Acre is walking through the Old City where the main streets are lined with market stalls and shops that open up onto the street.
The Acre Old City Market is a dirty, colorful, loud and bustling market where the local residents do their shopping among curious tourists. The prices are very reasonable, the vendors friendly and you can even try bargaining. Most of the market is covered so you won’t be in the sun and vendors display their goods hanging from every possible surface and spread out onto the street. The market operates during daylight hours and it is perfectly safe to walk around during the daytime. If you follow the market streets you will eventually reach the sea.
The market’s real purpose is to supply locals who live in the Old City with all they need. Among the goods on sale there is clothing, kitchen utensils, toys, jewelry, accessories, shoes, leather goods and more. Food on sale includes both raw and ready-to-eat food. See the fish monger; butcher; vegetable stalls; cheese and spice stalls. At the bakery see large trays of traditional baklava sweet cakes being prepared. You can find unique traditional items in the Acre Old City Market like hooker pipes. In among the market, stalls are several restaurants selling grilled meats, fish dishes, shawama and falafel.
Having entered the Old City Market and walked for a few meters you will see a doorway on your right that opens up to a gentrified, restored 18th century market street. This market is dedicated to arts, crafts and souvenirs. It is completely different to the Old City Market and is lined with elegant boutiques, eateries and pubs. If the Old City Market is a bit much for you then head in to this quieter and cleaner side street.
A Culinary Tour of Akko with Nurit Foran
Nurit Foran has been dealing with food for 25 years. For the past 6 years, Nurit has led people through the alleys and markets of the Western Galilee, bring them local dishes, introducing them to the local people and combining cultures and tastes.
During this tour, Nurit will lead you through the smells, stories and tastes of Akko’s colorful market. We will meet her for a sweet breakfast, taste a warm and sweet knafe, go into the courtyard of a local cook and more.
Acre and Rosh Hanikra Tour
Acre (some times referred to as Akko) is one of the oldest towns in Israel. It is situated on the Mediterranean Sea not too far from Haifa and has been home both to the Crusaders and Ottomans over the centuries. It has seen many skirmishes over the years and many people including Napoleon Bonaparte have tried to capture it. The city was declared a World Heritage Site in 2001 and since then has become part of the Israel experience for many tourists who visit the Holy Land. Steeped in history and full of interesting adventure and cultural events, Acre is definitely a place worth visiting on your tour of the Holy Land.
Rosh Hanikra is situated on the North West Corner of Israel, right on the Border with Lebanon. In ancient times Rosh Hanikra was based along one of the major trade routes between Palestine & Egypt in the South and Lebanon & Syria in the North. People who visit there today can walk right up to the border crossing point with Lebanon before venturing down the cliff face in a cable car to explore the grotto’s below. The tunnels and railway lines on view were constructed by the British Army during World War II to facilitate movement of supplies between Egypt and Beirut. Rosh Hanikra is a place filled with history and is well worth the visit on your tour of Israel.
Citadel of Acre
The current building which constitutes the citadel of Acre is an Ottoman fortification, built on the foundation of the citadel of the Knights Hospitaller. The citadel was part of the city’s defensive formation, reinforcing the northern wall. During the 20th century the citadel was used mainly as Acre Prison and as the site for a gallows. During the Palestinian mandate period, activists of Arab nationalist and the Jewish Zionist movements were held prisoner there; some were executed there.
Image Attribution:
איציק מוזן, CC BY-SA 3.0
israeltourism from Israel, CC BY 2.0
Steve Slep from Nope, The World, CC BY 2.0
Heritage Conservation Accre and Surrounding Pikiwiki Israel, CC BY 2.5
Lev.Tsimbler, CC BY-SA 3.0
Old City of Acre
Acre’s Old City is a historic walled port-city designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. It has been a place of continuous settlement from the Phoenician period and today, the city contains characteristics of a fortified town dating from the Ottoman 18th and 19th centuries, with typical urban components such as the citadel, mosques, khans and baths. The remains of when the Crusaders inhabited the region, which was between the years 1104 and 1291, remain intact, both above and below today’s street level.
Since the 1990s, large-scale archaeological excavations have been undertaken and efforts are being made to preserve ancient sites. In 2009, renovations were planned for Khan al-Umdan, the “Inn of the Columns,” the largest of several Ottoman inns still standing in Acre. It was built near the port at the end of the 18th century by Jazzar Pasha. Merchants who arrived at the port would unload their wares on the first floor and sleep in lodgings on the second floor. In 1906, a clock tower was added over the main entrance marking the 25th anniversary of the reign of the Turkish sultan, Abdul Hamid II.
See the highlights of Acre: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZXQTRUD29g
Or Torah Synagogue
The Or Torah or Djerba Synagogue is a beautiful, truly one of a kind Tunisian synagogue in Acre, Israel, built after the El Ghriba synagogue on Djerba. The building was erected in 1955 and is covered with millions of mosaics manufactured by Kibbutz Eilon – the outcome of 54 years of work. The synagogue boasts 7 Torah arks and houses hundres of millions of natural stones from all over Israel. In addition, it has 140 stained glass windows, as well as a large dome.
Image Attribution:
israeltourism from Israel, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons;
Geagea, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons;
FLLL, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Templars Tunnels
The Templars were a military-monastic order who – in the name of the pope – aided pilgrims coming from Europe to visit the holy sites of the Land of Israel.
They first settled in Jerusalem, on the Temple Mount, hence their name, “the Templars”, the guardians of the Temple. Following the conquest of Jerusalem by Salah Al-Din in 1187, the Templars made their home in Akko and began to build their quarter in the City’s southwest section.
Here, at the western edge of the tunnel is where the main fortress of the Templar order was built. “The Templar Fortress was the strongest one in the city and, for the most part, it abutted the sea line. As a strong fortress, its entrance was protected by two powerful towers with 28-foot thick walls. Two smaller towers were built on either side of the towers and each tower was topped by a gilded lion” (as described by a Templar who lived in Akko during the siege of 1291).
The tunnel is 150 meters long and it extends from the Templars fortress in the west to the city’s port in the east. It crosses the Pisan quarter and, in the past, served as a strategic underground passageway that connected the palace to the port. The lower part of the tunnel is carved in the natural stone and its upper part is made of hewn stones covered with a semi-barreled dome. The tunnel was discovered in 1994. The Akko Development Company, in collaboration with the Antiquities Authority, cleared away the dirt and made the tunnel available to visitors. The tunnel’s western section was opened to the public at large in August 1999. From 1999 to 2007, the Akko Development Company continued to expose and rehabilitate the eastern section of the tunnel and in 2007, the entire length of the tunnel was made available to the public (the site is accessible).
Photo attribution:
Ricardo Tulio Gandelman from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, CC BY 2.0
