Page 30 - Holyland Magazine - Catholic Edition 2014
P. 30
Old Acre ruler of Acre in 1781-2 to serve
A visit to Acre is a very special the town's Muslim inhabitants.
experience. The town ofers The hamam played a central
a fascinating history, a rare role in the Ottoman town, as
combination of East and West, a social meeting place for rest
authentic scenes from the past, and recreation, and as a place
a special meeting point of faiths of indulgence for the rich. This
and religions, and remains of is where things happened,
various peoples, cultures and the place to go to know what
religions. From the Canaanites, was happening in town. The
Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, hamam was destroyed in an
Crusaders and Mamelukes, earthquake and rebuilt at the
to the Turks and the British. beginning of the 19th century.
Alongside its splendid past,
Acre ofers a lively present, with During your visit, the hamam will
colorful markets, an authentic come alive with "Experiences of
ishing port, marina, restored the Last Bathhouse Attendant"
boutique hotels and a large Hamam El Basha - the high point is when you
number of restaurants. enter the steam-illed room
and meet the last bathhouse
The route described here attendant at work.
includes only some of the sites
the town has to ofer, and we The Shuk (Open Air
recommend that you wander Market)
and visit other sites according A visit to Acre is not complete
to the time you have available. without wandering through
the alleys of the open air
The Hospitaller market, which crosses the
Fortress (The Knights' town from north to south. The
Halls) lively, colorful market, with all
An extensive building that its sights and scents, is today
the hub of commercial activity
served as the headquarters in the town, with ish shops,
of the Order of Hospitallers butchers, spice, vegetables
in Acre in the 13th century, a and cosmetics stores and
Crusader military order, which
owned much property, was souvenir shops.
very powerful and had a great The Knights' Halls
deal of inluence throughout The Templars' Tunnel
the Land of Israel. In the castle, The Templars were a military-
built with two and three stories monastic order that provided
around a central courtyard, protection for pilgrims who
lived the head of the Order and arrived from Europe to visit
its supreme court. The building the Land of Israel. The tunnel
also contained storehouses, was a strategic underground
dining rooms and meeting halls passageway that connected
that served all the knights of the Order's main castle in
the Order in Acre in their daily Acre, the strongest building in
lives. South of the castle stood the town, with the port. The
the Order's main church, the lower part of the tunnel was
Church of St. John. Today an hewn out of the rock, while its
Ottoman building stands on upper part was built of stone,
that site. with an overall length of 350
meters. While walking through
The Turkish Hamam - the tunnel, an audiovisual
presentation is projected on
Hamam El Basha the walls, telling about the town
A magniicent hamam - Turkish during Crusader times and
baths - built by the Ottoman The Templars' Tunnel about the Order of Templars.
30
A visit to Acre is a very special the town's Muslim inhabitants.
experience. The town ofers The hamam played a central
a fascinating history, a rare role in the Ottoman town, as
combination of East and West, a social meeting place for rest
authentic scenes from the past, and recreation, and as a place
a special meeting point of faiths of indulgence for the rich. This
and religions, and remains of is where things happened,
various peoples, cultures and the place to go to know what
religions. From the Canaanites, was happening in town. The
Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, hamam was destroyed in an
Crusaders and Mamelukes, earthquake and rebuilt at the
to the Turks and the British. beginning of the 19th century.
Alongside its splendid past,
Acre ofers a lively present, with During your visit, the hamam will
colorful markets, an authentic come alive with "Experiences of
ishing port, marina, restored the Last Bathhouse Attendant"
boutique hotels and a large Hamam El Basha - the high point is when you
number of restaurants. enter the steam-illed room
and meet the last bathhouse
The route described here attendant at work.
includes only some of the sites
the town has to ofer, and we The Shuk (Open Air
recommend that you wander Market)
and visit other sites according A visit to Acre is not complete
to the time you have available. without wandering through
the alleys of the open air
The Hospitaller market, which crosses the
Fortress (The Knights' town from north to south. The
Halls) lively, colorful market, with all
An extensive building that its sights and scents, is today
the hub of commercial activity
served as the headquarters in the town, with ish shops,
of the Order of Hospitallers butchers, spice, vegetables
in Acre in the 13th century, a and cosmetics stores and
Crusader military order, which
owned much property, was souvenir shops.
very powerful and had a great The Knights' Halls
deal of inluence throughout The Templars' Tunnel
the Land of Israel. In the castle, The Templars were a military-
built with two and three stories monastic order that provided
around a central courtyard, protection for pilgrims who
lived the head of the Order and arrived from Europe to visit
its supreme court. The building the Land of Israel. The tunnel
also contained storehouses, was a strategic underground
dining rooms and meeting halls passageway that connected
that served all the knights of the Order's main castle in
the Order in Acre in their daily Acre, the strongest building in
lives. South of the castle stood the town, with the port. The
the Order's main church, the lower part of the tunnel was
Church of St. John. Today an hewn out of the rock, while its
Ottoman building stands on upper part was built of stone,
that site. with an overall length of 350
meters. While walking through
The Turkish Hamam - the tunnel, an audiovisual
presentation is projected on
Hamam El Basha the walls, telling about the town
A magniicent hamam - Turkish during Crusader times and
baths - built by the Ottoman The Templars' Tunnel about the Order of Templars.
30
