STOP 3 | ACRE - Crusader Kingdom Beneath a Living Arab Town
- Regina Liu
- Sep 14
- 4 min read
Updated: Sep 16
HIGHLIGHTS
"Acre is one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. In the King James Version of the Bible, the city is referenced as Accho (Judges 1:31). Its name is said to derive from the Hebrew phrase "ad koh", meaning "hitherto" or "thus far". This echoes a passage in the King James Bible (Job 38:11): “Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed.” Acre was part of the land allotted to the tribe of Asher after Joshua led the Israelites into Canaan. However, Asher failed to drive out the Canaanite inhabitants of Accho, instead living among them (Judges 1:31-32)."
Throughout Israel and Jordan, important Christian sites are often marked with the cross emblem of the Custodia Terræ Sanctæ (Custody of the Holy Land). This Franciscan order, founded in 1217, is dedicated to protecting the sanctity of Christian holy sites in the Middle East. Notably, St. Francis himself arrived in the Holy Land with the Crusaders in 1219, disembarking at the port of Acre.
As mentioned previously, Israel is home to 10 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The Old City of Acre is one of them. Furthermore, the city and its surroundings contain numerous Baháʼí holy places, forming a significant part of another UNESCO site: the Bahá’i Holy Places in Haifa and the Western Galilee. Remarkably, within an area of less than 15 square kilometres, Acre holds the distinction of contributing to two World Heritage Sites.
SITE VISITS:
In just under an hour, I journeyed from the visitor centre down into the Knight’s Halls, past the Citadel, through the Turkish Bazaar, along a maze of ancient alleyways, and descended once more underground at the Templars Tunnel. Emerging from the tunnel onto Ha-Hagana Street by the sea, I found a row of eclectic restaurants—offering local hummus, British fish & chips, and American-style cafeterias. From a terrace at one of them, I could see the submerged foundations of a Crusader Templar fortress and the lighthouse towering on the observation point.
The old city is a tapestry of churches, synagogues, mosques, shrines, and small museums (exhibiting everything from modern art to Ottoman-era customs—a truly disorienting blend of eras!). While fascinating, none were a specific priority, and with time short, I pressed on.
Most of Acre's above-ground structures date from the Ottoman period, many built directly upon the fortified foundations of the Crusader kingdom (see photo on the right). A classic example is the Al-Jazzar Mosque: its foundations are Crusader, and many of its pillars were purportedly brought from the ruins of Herod the Great’s Caesarea Maritima. Unfortunately, this visit did not include a tour of the mosque.
In Acre, the "layers of time" stacked in earth and stone—from the underground Crusader ruins to the Ottoman city above—become tangibly close. In this city, where Jews and Arabs form the main populace, the presence of a hummus restaurant by the sea, a classic British fish & chips shop, and the unmistakable aromas of the Turkish bazaar made this sensation of travelling through time both sudden and profound.
If time had allowed, I would have definitely explored the remaining sections of the ancient city walls, taken a short boat trip around the bay for a different perspective of the city, and settled in for a glass of iced tea at Al Fanar café to simply relax—instead of my hurried dash onto their terrace to snap a few quick photos, half-expecting to be shooed away.
My walking route in Acre included:
Citadel of Acre:
The current citadel is an Ottoman-era structure built directly atop the earlier castle of the Knights Hospitaller. During the British Mandate, it was used as a prison where many Zionist activists were imprisoned and executed; a large-scale escape is also part of its history. I only viewed its exterior from the entrance and did not venture into the inner courtyard.
Hospitaller Entrance:
The castle and knight's halls buried beneath the citadel are part of the original Hospitaller complex. A wall at the entrance features a plan of the entire Crusader complex, and a model reconstructing the 13th-century city stands in the square outside. A glance here helps visitors prioritise which sites to explore.
Knights' Halls:
The entrance to these vast, interconnecting halls is on the side of the citadel. The convoluted access—descending from an Ottoman citadel into a Crusader castle—poignantly highlights both human grandeur and insignificance across the centuries.
The Turkish Bazaar:
A narrow, covered lane bustling with small shops and food stalls. It felt like a more cramped and aromatic version of Yuyuan in Shanghai's Old City, an atmosphere rather at odds with my personal preferences.
Templar Tunnel:
This tunnel, nearly 350 metres long on each of its two levels, once connected the Templar fortress on the western sea wall to the eastern port. We entered at a mid-point and walked westwards to the sea before emerging above ground.
Ha-Hagana Street:
This bustling seaside road is where we exited the tunnel. It was filled with people parking, walking, taking photos, and eating hummus...... A short walk uphill led to the Al Fanar Cafe, whose terrace is perfectly positioned for enjoying the breeze, a cold drink, and the view of the lighthouse, a corner of the western sea defences, and the faint, submerged remnants of Crusader foundations. We departed from here by car, heading for our next destination: Megiddo.
Stop 4 | TEL MEGIDDO – Witness kingdoms come and go
