 | Acre Israel: Encyclopedia II - Acre Israel - Notable sights and places in Acre
Acre Israel - Notable sights and places in Acre
The old city of Acre has been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site and contains, among other sites, a tunnel leading to a 13th-century fortress of the Knights Templar.
Since the 1990s there are vast works of archeological excavations and preservations of ancient structures in progress. The works are carried out by the Old Acre Development Company (OADC).
Acre Israel - The walls
The first notable thing which comes to sight when coming to Acre is the heavy land defense wall, built north and east to the city. This wall was built in 1800-1814 by Jezzar Pasha (called by the locals Al-Jezzar) and his Jewish advisor Haim Farkhi. This is a modern counter artillery fortification which includes a thick defensive wall, a dry moat, cannons' outposts and three Burges (large defensive towers).
In 1750, Daher El-Omar, the ruler of Acre, utilized the remnants of the Crusader walls as a foundation for his walls. They were reinforced between 1775 and 1799 by Jezzar Pasha and survived Napoleon's siege. The wall was thin, its height was 10-13 metres and its thickness was only 1 metre.
The sea wall, which remained mostly complete, is the original El-Omar's wall that was reinforced by al-Jezzar. However, the land wall which survived Napoleon's siege was replaced in 1800 with a modern wall by al-Jezzar.
See also: Acre Walls (OADC)
Acre Israel - The Great Mosque
The Al Jezzar mosque was built by Jezzar Pasha (d. 1804) from materials taken from Caesarea Palaestina: his tomb is within.
Acre Israel - Hamam al Basha
Hamam is a hot Turkish bath. Acre's Hamam is notable mainly because it was used by the Irgun as bridge to break into the citadel's prison.
Acre Israel - The citadel
The current building which consists the citadel of Acre is an Ottoman forification, built on the foundation of the Hospitallerian citadel. The citadel was part of the city's defensive formation, reinforcing the northern wall.
During the 20th century the citadel was used mainly as prison and a gallows. During the British mandate period, activists of Jewish Zionist resistance movements were held prisoner there; some were executed there. In 1947, members of the Irgun broke into the citadel and released many prisoners.
Today, the citadel of Acre contains the following:
- The Ottoman fortifications (including the tower and the moat).
- Acre Old City Visitor Centers.
- The "enchanted garden": a new garden that is planted according to historical description of the garden that was there during the Crusades period.
- Acre's British prison and the gallows.
- Memorial for Jewish resistance fighters, executed by the British mandate.
- A Museum for the Jewish resistance prisoners, מוזיאון אסירי המחתרות .
- Knights' Halls (see below).
As of August 2004, the citadel is partly closed, due to preservation works.
Acre Israel - The Knights' Halls
Under the citadel and prison of Acre, archeological excavations revealed a complex of halls, which was built and used by the Hospitallers Knights. This complex was a part of the Hospitallers' citadel, which was combined in the northern wall of Acre.
The complex includes:
- Six semi-joint halls.
- One large hall, recently excavated.
- Dungeon.
- Dining room (with a tunnel).
- Posta and Crypta (remains of an ancient Gothic church).
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 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Notable sights and places in Acre", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
