Haifa, Israel (2nd Day)

            Monday, 10 Apr 2017 – Again, this was a fairly early morning (6:15 AM) but not as bad as yesterday!  Before 8:15 we were at our meeting place aboard ship; since other longer tours (as to Nazareth) had already departed, our wait was very short.  By 8:30 AM our bus left for a 5-hour tour to “Acre and the Crusaders’ Kingdom.”  Remarkably, we found our tour guide to be Tali, who had been our guide on Sunday.  Wonderful for us!

            Acre (pronounced something like “Ah-krah” and also spelled “Akko”) is not too far up the coast of the Mediterranean from Haifa.  However, before leaving Haifa, we were shown some high points of this city.  A German community had been established here in the 18th century.  Although they left the area in the 20th century to support their fatherland in wartime, their buildings still convey the feeling of being in part of Germany.  From Mt. Carmel, we had a wonderful view of Haifa Bay; the golden dome of Haifa’s Baha’i Shrine; and Acre in the distance.  Although the Baha’i religion’s founder was hanged in Iran, his burial is here in the Baha’i Shrine.

Crusader's Fort

            Acre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site whose history dates back almost 4,000 years, played a pivotal role during the Crusades.  Immediately upon our arrival in Acre, we experienced the decidedly medieval atmosphere of the area as we descended into the headquarters of the Knights of St. John.  Part of this underground city was known as the Hospitaler Quarter because it was here that the knights received their medical care.  Tali led us through a series of barrel-vaulted rooms called the Crusader Halls, which lead to the Refectory (dining hall).  Also referred to as the Crypt, it is a true representation of Crusader architecture.

As we walked through the rooms, plaques told phases of history or purposes of rooms, and often small items uncovered were also on display.   Reproductions of murals were sometimes projected onto the walls.  All of the ruins have not been uncovered; excavation continues. 

Tali continued to speak more of the Crusaders.  Since Sally was familiar with much of the general information about the Crusades, she felt that she could afford to distance herself from Tali to take more photos than Jesse (the usual photographer) seemed interested in taking. 

Sally remembers many details about the Crusades.  Although the Crusaders no doubt believed that their mission was honorable and sacred – that is, to take back Jerusalem from non-believers (Muslims) and return it to Christ, they committed horrible atrocities, murdering thousands of people.  One of the early Popes actually told men who participated in the Crusades that, by murdering infidels, they would be assured of entrance to Heaven!  (Thus, the Crusaders were the “terrorists” of that period and place.)  At that time, Europeans knew less about cleanliness and medicine than did some of the Muslims, so that they appeared to be the more primitive of the two.

After a brief stop at a local shop (with restrooms), Tali asked for a show of hands for those who wanted to tour the old city.  Although seven of the 30 decided not to participate, the other 23 hearty members of our group followed Tali.  Near to the Crypt is a stairway which leads to a long underground passage that is thought to be an escape tunnel that was built by the Crusaders in order to reach the port during attacks by Muslim forces.  As we approached the tunnel, Tali asked if anyone had a problem with claustrophobia.  Although Jesse does have some problem, he told me that, if his “brave wife” would stay beside him, he could manage it.  Although this brought back memories to us of Jesse’s descent down into a pyramid in 2006 (when he had to turn around to walk backward down the steps), at least the Crusader tunnel was on one level, with no stairs (until afterward).  However, Jesse had to double over and nearly crawl because the ceiling was very low, perhaps 4.5 feet from the floor.  Sally believes the height might have been a little less than that because even she had to bend over; before exiting the long tunnel, her back was feeling the pressure of crouching down.

Old City

Returning to the surface, we explored a bit of the Ottoman period of Acre’s long and colorful history.  Walking though the lively marketplace, we saw modern people shopping for the fruit, tempting sweets, and more exotic offerings.  From there, we continued on to the enormous Kahn El Umdan, also referred to as the Pillar’s Inn, an ancient caravanserai, which once served the camel caravans.  Close to the shore where we walked, the scenery was nice and the weather couldn’t have been better.  Tali commented that we were lucky because this day might have been much hotter.  However, after we turned inland and walked several more blocks toward the bus, near the old fort, our tired bodies were eager to sit down again.

Friends from Hong Kong

            At 2:30 PM we arrived back at the ship terminal where we took advantage of the free internet, and re-boarded the ship in time for a late lunch, but too tired to swim.  Sally napped.  After dinner, we ran into our friends from Hong Kong, and decided that we had recovered enough from our day’s excursion to dance to a few songs in the atrium before retiring for the night.