Old City of Acre

The Old City of Acre has been designated a WHS because of its Crusader buildings and its Ottoman walled town. In 1104, during the First Crusade, the Crusaders made the town their chief port in Palestine.

The Ottomans under Sultan Selim I captured the city in 1517, after which it fell into almost total decay. Towards the end of the 18th century it revived under the rule of Dhaher al-Omar and his successors.

Year	Decision	Comments
2001	Inscribed	Reasons for inscription

Reviews

John Booth (New Zealand):
Akko/Acre/Ptolomais has been occupied by Greeks, Romans, Persians and Egyptians, as well as the Phoenecians, the Crusaders, the Ottomans and the British.

Under the Ottomans the city achieved notoriety as a prison city; amongst its notable prisoners was Bahau'llah, founder of the Baha'i Faith. The British continued the tradition by incarcerating and executing a number of notorius Jewish 'terrorists'. The prison museum is open to visitors.

Less traumatic to visit are the Ottoman inns or khans. In these inns merchants from all over the Mediterranean area came to conduct trade.

Christer Sundberg (Sweden):

Further up the Isreli coast, just as you’ve passed Haifa, you reach to the old town of Acre. Or Acco, which is the locals name for the town. For me it was a rainy day in December and having reached the town by train, I hopped into a taxi in order to quickly get to the older parts of the town, located right next to the Mediterranean seaside.

They say that the weather makes half the experience and this time it was a wet one. But with the sun on your side Acre is a brilliant little town which history dates back to Canaanite times. Acre has somewhat of a “Jerusalem feel” to itself but actually reflects the time of the Crusaders and the Arabs. Actually, it is the ruins of the “Crusader City” that today is Acre’s major attraction. When the Ottomans rebuilt Acre, they did so on top of the old Crusader City which lies 25 feet below that of today. It has now been unearthed, revealing big Gothic halls and underground tunnels. And if that isn’t enough, a visit to the Mosque of El-Jazzar, the bazaars and a lunch by the seaside will easily kill more than a couple of hours. Acre is easily accessible from Tel Aviv or Haifa and definitely worth a visit.

Date posted: June 2006

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