Visiting Ancient Akko

A whale greets the Akko coastline

Nothing beats breathing the air of a place to experience its history and legends, as a group of English speakers in Israel were to find out on the ESRA Here and There trip to Akko's old city earlier this year. Organized by ESRA volunteer Ruth Barina and led by tour guide Onnie Schiffmiller, the group experienced some key sights and sounds of the historic walled port city.

After a scenic drive up the Israeli coast we arrived at the port city of Akko and gathered at the Gan Hametsuda Festival Gardens (Enchanted Garden) as our entry point to this city's ancient story. Onnie detailed the Crusader history of the area before leading us into the Hospitaller Crusader Fortress, a feat of architecture that served among other things as a hospital and hospice, built by the Knights Hospitaller in the 12th century. The Knights' original purpose was to provide medical help to Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land, but it soon became a military order associated with the Crusades.

Next stop was the Akko Prison Museum. This part of the tour brings us to a more recent part of Israel's history, under the British Mandate, as this was where members of the Haganah, Irgun and Lehi were held during the struggle for Israel's independence. We learnt about significant prisoners, such as Moshe Dayan and Zeev Jabotinsky, and saw how they lived, and some died by hanging, within the confines of these walls.

Having experienced a taste of life in Ancient Akko, and the more recent Israeli history of the prison, we left a little tired but much wiser, with a valued experience to take home with us. Many thanks to Ruth and Onnie for making this a memorable day trip. Keep an eye out for upcoming Here and There in Israel trips with ESRA. It's a great way to spend a day.