The old city have a fascinating historical heritage, a rare blend of East and West, authentic sights from the past, a unique meeting place of art and religion alongside the remains of various cultures. All these have made Acre one of the most important cities of the ancient world.

The walls of the city, its fortresses and citadels, its churches and mosques and the other buildings within its boundaries, tell the history of the many rulers who governed it and fought for it, who built the city and glorified it.

Acre’s most prominent sites include ruins from the Hellenistic-Roman period and buildings from the Crusader and Ottoman periods: Al Jazar Mosque, the buildings of the Order of Saint John. The subterranean Crusader city, Khan Al- Omdan, the Turkish Baths, the Bahai Temple and more.

In the city you will be able to see the fingerprints of many peoples and religious
movements: the Canaanites, the Greeks, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Crusaders, the Mamelukes, the Turks and the British.

Following, you can find a recommendation of a different sites that you can visit while you staying in the city.    

Sites in old Acre: (+972)

The Okashi Museum

Next to the Knights’ Halls in Old Acre there is a building with cruciform domes, dating from the Ottoman Period. A museum operates in the building, with temporary exhibits of Israeli art alongside a permanent exhibit of the works of the late Avshalom Okashi. This artist was one of the lynchpins of the New Horizons, a group of artists that was organized in Israel after the War of Independence. Okashi spent most of his life in Acre, where he set up his workshop, which, after his death, became the Okashi Museum. The subjects of his early works are rooted in the nature and human and spiritual reality of Israel and are drawn from Biblical texts.

Opening hours:

Sunday through Thursday from 08:30 to17:00
Fridays and holiday eves from 08:30 to 14:00

Hamam al Basha (the Turkish bath)

A public bathhouse that was built by El-Jazar in the year 1795 in the format of the Oriental bathhouses that were common in the Turkish Empire during the 18th and 19th centuries.

The bathhouse has an entry room that serves as a dressing room, with a marble fountain in the center. A corridor leads from the entry room to a series of hot rooms, the last of which is a hexagonal steam room, with a domed roof supported by four marble columns, with four rooms for individual use, one at each corner.
The bathhouse building is an elegant one and is adorned with marble floors and imported ceramic tiles.

The Story of the Last Bath Attendant- A Performance at the Al Basha Hammam

The Acre Turkish Baths, one of the most beautiful and fascinating sites in the Old City, comes to life through an imaginary play based on a line of bath attendants that tell the history of Acre during the Ottoman Period.

History takes on an especially luscious dimension when seen through the eyes of the bath attendant, because the Turkish Baths were much more than a religious purification house. The Baths served as a social center where people met for rest, entertainment and banquets. The Baths were a meeting place for doctors and barbers and served as a house of luxury for the wealthy and prominent as well as for the common people of the city. This was where they talked, gossiped, laughed and philosophized.

The Al Basha Hammam Theater takes you on a dramatic, fascinating and educating light and sound experience. The lives of a typical family of bath attendants introduce you to the story of Acre from the time the Turkish Baths were built at the end of the 18th century by Jazzar Pasha. He was the Acre governor that turned the small fishing village into a teeming harbor city and a major trade and cultural center.

The experience is comprised of visual elements, the most important being the actual building. The marvelous spaces decorated with ceramic tiles are emphasized with colorful lighting. An authentic soundtrack, original illustrations and carved figures that powerfully depict daily life, historical events and the atmosphere of the Baths, accompany the entire experience. The audience walks through the rooms of the Hammam with the performance and in the last room awaits a surprise. Bath attendant Haj Bashir scrubs, massages and bats and soaps as he weaves the story of the Turkish Baths with the history of Acre and its active social life.
An unforgettable experience.

Opening hours:

Sunday through Thursday from 08:30 to 17:00
Fridays and holiday eves from 08:30 to 14:00

The Templars’ Tunnel

During the second half of the 12th century the members of the Templar Order began building their quarter in the south-western part of Acre. A writer who lived in the city at the end of the 13th century describes their fortress as follows:
“The Templar Fortress was the strongest one in the city and, in the main, abutted the sea line. Its entrance was protected by two strong towers with walls 28 feet thick. On either side of the towers two smaller towers were built and each tower was topped by a gilded lion.”

A tunnel led eastward from the fortress, the remains of which are now covered by the sea. The lower part of the tunnel was carved from natural stone, and its upper part was built from hewn stones covered by a semi-barreled dome. The tunnel transverses the Pisan Quarter and leads to the city port in the east, a distance of 350 meters.

The tunnel was discovered in 1994 and was opened to the public in September 1999. In order to open it to the public it was necessary to clear away dirt, to install a system of pumps in order to maintain a fixed groundwater level and to build a wooden path and install lighting.

Opening hours:

O Sunday through Thursday from 08:30 to 17:00
Fridays and holiday eves from 08:30 to 14:00
Entry fees
A ticket for the tunnel only –   10 NIS.
See the combined ticket option

The Hospitaller Fortress & the Enchanted Garden

The Hospitaller Fortress

The Fortress is built in the form of four wings surrounding an open courtyard.

The north wing was built along the northern wall of the city, making the Fortress an integral part of the defense of the walls of acre and the main gate to the north. This wing is made up of nine long and narrow halls: halls 1 – 6 served as storerooms, halls 7 and 8 as a large reservoir into which the rainwater from the roofs of the Fortress drained, and hall 9 served as a passageway to the central courtyard from the north.
A spacious hall was built in the eastern wing, measuring 35 X 40 meters.

The hall has a cruciform vaulted ceiling borne by square columns, apertures facing the north and wide windows facing the west and the south. It served as a conference and ceremonial hall for the knights of the order. 

In the south wing an elegant hall with a cruciform vaulted ceiling was discovered, supported by three round columns with a particularly large diameter. The hall is elegant, with decorations at the bases of the columns that support the ceiling.

Two openings face the central courtyard: a door that opens to the east and wide windows facing the south. This hall apparently served as the order’s dining room. Next to it there is another hall, also in the south wing. This hall has not yet been uncovered but it is reasonable to assume that it served as the kitchen.

The north wing is a two-story wing and was used as a dormitory for the warriors.
In the northern part of this hall public toilets were discovered, also built in two levels, each of which contained some 30 toilet stalls. The stalls were drained by means of drainpipes installed in the walls and leading to an underground collection room, which drained, into a central municipal sewage conduit. 

The western dormitory wing and the southern dining room wing were built in elegant gothic style, unlike the remaining wings and appear to have been built at a later date. 

The Southern Road

South of the Hospitaller Fortress a municipal road that passed through the Hospitaller Quarter was uncovered. The road runs southward from the northern city wall (which is called St. John’s Gate) along the eastern wall of the quarter, and then continues westward, passing between the fortress and the Church of St. John. At a distance of some 50 meters the road turns southward in the direction of the Genoese Quarter. A monumental stone gate was erected in this part of the road and enable the Hospitallers to close off the road during emergencies.
An additional public road adjoins with the Southern Road and runs eastward, towered the King’s Quarter. This street, which is some 10 meters wide, is paved with stone tablets. A row of shops were uncovered along part of the road.

The Enchanted Garden

During the Crusader Period the Enchanted Garden was situated in the northern part of the city, adjacent to the wall. To the east of the garden stood the Crusader King’s palace in Acre, and to the west, the military fortress of the Hospitallers – the Order of St. John.

During the Ottoman Period the ruler’s palace was built on the remains of the Hospitaller fortress, and the garden became part of the gardens of the Pasha’s private palace.

In 1799 a battle was fought in the garden between Napoleon’s soldiers and the defenders of the city. The soldiers of Napoleon’s army, who invaded the city, were repelled and ultimately failed to conquer it. 

The garden is part of the Visitors and Reservations Center and serves as the new approach to the fortress for the city of Acre and the entire Galilee region.

Opening hours:

Sunday through Thursday from 08:30 to 17:00
Fridays and holiday eves from 08:30 to 14:00
Free entry

Khans ( The name of the hotels in the Middle east, in the past period )

Khan A-Shawarda

Khan A-Shawarda (the Merchants’ Inn) was apparently built by Dahar Al-Omer in the 18th century. The khan has a square courtyard with the remains of a manger in the center.

During the period of British mandatory rule openings were made in the courtyard of the khan for traffic. The site of the khan is thought to be the site of a monastery of the Clarissan Nuns during the Crusader Period. It is said that when the Moslems took over the city the nuns deliberately mutilated themselves, cutting off their noses, in order not to fall in the hands of the conquerors. (Mondrill spoke of this in 1697).

Khan Al-Omdan

A large merchants’ inn near the port, which was used for international trade. Merchants who arrived at the port unloaded their goods at the storerooms of the inn on the first floor and stayed in the rooms of the second floor, which constituted a unique hotel.

The khan was built in the late 18th century by Ahmed El-Jazer and rests on a series of granite columns that were brought from various sites in the area.
The courtyard of the khan is open to visitors during all hours of the day.

Khan Al-Faranj

Khan Al-Faranj was built in the middle of the 16th century by French merchants in a location that served as the central courtyard of the Venetian quarter during the Crusader Period.

This is Acre’s oldest remaining khan. It was named for the French merchants who built it and lived in it. The activity of French merchants in Acre reached its apex in the late 18th century, until they were banished from the city by Jazar Pasha in 1791.

After they were banished, Pasha took over the cotton trade, which had been controlled by the French merchants in a virtually monopolistic manner. In the early 18th century the governor of Acre resided in Khan Al-Faranj, after moving there for security reasons in order to be able to keep a watchful eye on the French merchants and to collect taxes from them more efficiently. A school currently operates in one of the wings of the khan. The courtyard of the khan is open to the public.

Prayer Sites

The Ramchal Synagogue

During the 16th – 18th centuries the Jewish community had two synagogues in Acre: the Achav Synagogue and the Ramchal Synagogue, named after the rabbi known as the Ramchal, who lived in Acre between 1743 and 1747. The Ramchal Synagogue was the larger and more elegant of the two. In 1758 the Bedouin ruler of Acre, Dahar El-Omar, took over the synagogue and built the El-Mualek Mosque on top of it. In place of the synagogue the Jews received a small building north of the El-Mualek Mosque.

In recent years the synagogue was renovated and opened to the public.
Visits to the site may be arranged in advance through the Visitors Center by calling 04-6519813.

The Carmelite Church

It is evident from documents and maps of Acre that in the middle of the 13th century the Carmelites had a church in the Monmizar Quarter in Acre, near the seashore. When the Crusaders were banished in 1291 the Carmelites also left the city and no trace of the members of the order were left in the Land of Israel. In the first half of the 17th century the Carmelites returned to the Land of Israel, first to a plot of land on Mount Carmel, which was purchased in 1631 from the ruler at the time, Emir Turabi, and later the Carmelites began operating fro their base in Haifa and in Acre.

The Franciscan Terra Sancta Church

The importance of Acre for the Franciscans stems from the fact that according to their beliefs Saint Francis of Assisi, the founder of their order, visited there in 1219 – 1220.

In 1217 Father Elia Da Cortona established the first Franciscan monastery in Israel there. When Acre fell in the hands of the Mamelukes in the year 1291, the members of the order fled from the monastery.

According to the chronicles of the Franciscans, in the year 1620 Facher El-Din the second permitted them officially to settle in Acre and to establish a church and an inn for their use in the city. According to a record from the year 1673, the church was named for Saint John the Baptist.

The Saint George’s Church

This Greek Orthodox Church was probably the first Christian house of worship built in Acre in the days of the Turks. The first evidence from the Ottoman Period of the monastery and the church of the Greek Orthodox in Acre is apparently that of the Minurite monk Eugene Roger, who visited the city in the year 1631.
Thirty-five years later the physician Gabriel Bremond of Marseilles visited Acre. Bremond stated that the Greek Orthodox that was once named after Saint Nicholas, which was built by Facher El-Din, had become the most beautiful of the churches in the Levant.

Visits to the site may be arranged in advance by calling the contact, Father Caorico, at 04-9910563 or 04-9915029 or Father Pialatus at 04-359424.

The El-Jazar Mosque

The El-Jazar Mosque, which is known in Arabic as Jama El Basha (the Mosque of the Pasha), was also known in the past by the name of Jama El Anwar (The Mosque of Lights), according to the donation document of El-Jazar. This is the largest mosque in Israel outside Jerusalem and the largest one of the mosques that were built in Israel in the days of the Turks. The building still dominates the Acre skyline.
According to the text in Arabic engraved over the doorway, the mosque was consecrated in the year 1196 of the Hegira, which corresponds to the year 1781/82 AD, i.e. in the early years of the rule of El-Jazar Pasha in Acre.
Visits to the site may be arranged in advance by calling the contact, Hasan Seroan, at 04-991303.

The El-Zeituna Mosque

The El-Zeituna Mosque is located south of Zawayat El-Shadlia, at the place where the Maria of Jehoshafat Church stood during the Crusader Period, south of the Hospitallers Quarter. According to widespread tradition, the name of the mosque is associated with the olive trees that used to grow in its courtyard. The mosque was built in the period of Dahar El-Omar by Haj Muhammad El-Zadaki, who also founded the Wakf associated with it. At first the wakf was managed by the family of Sheikh Nur El-Zadaki and, in the years 1316 – 1323 of the Hegira (1898 – 1905) by the El-Aravi family.

Visits to the site may be arranged in advance by calling the contact, Ibrahim Kandil,
at 04-9912546.

The El-Mualek Mosque (the ancient synagogue of Acre)

The El-Mualek Mosque, which is also known in Arabic as the Mosque of Tahar El-Omar, is located slightly north of Khan El-Omdan, The mosque was built in a courtyard and included two buildings: the ancient building formerly used as the ancient synagogue of the Jewish community of Acre, and the new building atop which the base of the minaret is now located.
 
This building was erected by Sheikh Suhil, who died in the year 1161 of the Hegira (the year which almost fully corresponds to the year 1748)
The El-Ramal Mosque (The El-Shabi Mosque)
The first mosque that was built in Acre was the mosque of the sea. In the year 1114 of the Hegira (1702 AD), with the increase in the population of the city, a second mosque was built in Acre for the convenience of the believers who did not live near the seashore.

The mosque was built by Haj Muhammad Ibn El-Sheikh El-Shabi, and, at the time, included the Al-Shabi bathhouse, a coffee house, storerooms, shops and more. His cousin, Sheikh Salach Ibn El-Sheikh Hussein, was appointed to supervise the Wakf and the mosque.
Visits to the site may be arranged in advance by calling the contact, Ibrahim Kandil, at 04-9912546

Markets

The Turkish Bazaar

The Acre bazaar was completely deserted for a period of 450 years, since the year 1291, when the Crusaders were banished. After this period a new city was built on top of the remains of the Crusader city. The building was begun by a Bedouin ruler, Dahar Al-Omer (1750 – 1775) who established an independent kingdom in the Galilee and made Acre its capital. He renovated the city walls, cleaned the port and built his private palace in the city.

in 1775 the city of Acre was attacked by an Egyptian Ottoman officer by the name of Ahmed Al-Jazar, who executed Dahar Al-Omer as a rebel against the Ottoman regime. Ahmed Al-Jazar carried on the work of Dahar Al-Omer and established Acre as the main commercial city of the entire region. During the period of Al-Jazar many mosques, bathhouses, khans and bazaars were built to serve the citizens of the city.

The Turkish Bazaar was built at the end of the 18th century as a municipal market to serve the local population. The market was deserted in the year 1948 with the capture of the Old City by the IDF, and opened recently as an artisans and artists bazaar. The bazaar now contains small shops specializing in the sale of souvenirs and objects d’art to tourists. The bazaar is open all week long until 18:00. During the festival period it is open to the public until much later.
The White Market (Shuq Al-Abiad)

The market was built by Dahar Al-Omer, destroyed in a fire and rebuilt by Suleiman Pasha in 1817. It takes its name from the white limestone from which it is built.
The market is unusual in character, since the street and the market are designed as a single unit. The plan of the building includes a vaulted ceiling above the street, with small shops barrel vaulted ceilings. The high vaults in the center, the apertures and the light all give the market a light and attractive nature. The passageways become narrower in an almost uniform manner as they extend in the direction of the city and the width of the hall is uniform along its entire length.

Market Street

Market street is the main road of the Old City and runs from the north to the south. During the Crusader Period this road led from the Hospitallers Gate in the north, along the route of the market or through Via Regis, all the way to the port.
Today, the main market of Old Acre is located on this route – a colorful market with many stalls selling fish and sweet Oriental pastries, as well as shops selling perfume and original spice stores.

The market has undergone a renovation process, which encompassed the shops, the facades and the pedestrian walkway.
Two important Jewish sites are located at the southern end of the market: Parchi House and the Ramhal Synagogue.
The market is open all week long until 17:00. (during the festival period it is open to the public until much later).