Haifa, Israel Day 2

 66 degrees and sunny,  great way to start the day.  For our second day in Haifa we took the scenic city tour and to the ancient city of Acre.  Bob and I were here 7 years ago and explored on foot, so this was a different experience for me.  Visiting the ancient city of Acre was a complete surprise for neither Margit or I knew the city existed.  

Amidst the city of Haifa which is built on the slopes of Mount Carmel and overlooks the Mediterranean there are the Hanging Gardens of Haifa, a series of stunning terraces beautifully landscaped.  The Bahai World Center Gardens were  built by the people of the  Bahai faith.  Our first stop allowed us to view these from the bottom and our second stop from the top.  While 7 years ago one could walk up and down the garden steps, which Bob and I did, now one must get an appointment and guide.  Our second stop was from the top of Mount Carmel to view the Gardens from the top entrance and the city of Haifa below.  Breathtaking!  

The Bahai Faith is a relatively new religion teaching the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people.  It was established in the 19th century, initially in Iran, and then in other parts of the Middle East.  However there are Bahai centers in Chicago and one two other US cities that I don’t recall.  There are about 6 million worldwide.  

The a short drive to the coastal countryside and we arrive at Acre.  It’s Old City (Akko) is a Unesco World Heritage Site, consisting well preserved buildings, ruins, ancient harbor and the Ottoman city walls.  Akko has been shaped by the Romanism Ottomans, Crusaders, Mamelukes, Byzantines and the British.   Today it is a shining example of coexistence of Jews, Christians and Muslims.  The modern city is also home to part of the Bahai World Center.  The ruins are both above and below street level.  It has  citadels, mosques, khans and baths all of which have been preserved.  Akko has been extensively excavated and work continues to this day.  It was an amazing place to tour, its history is mind boggling.  Inside one of the tunnels in the wall is the “Treasures in the Walls Ethnographic Museum” depicting daily life from the Ottoman times up to the 20th century.  While only part of the area was open as the tourist season has yet to begin, we were able to get quite an impression and would have loved to have had more time to take it all in.    After our visit we had a brief time to browse some of the little shops outside the Entrance.   

Another interesting day in Israel comes to an end.       


The Hanging Gardens of Haifa,  the Bahai World Center


The ride from the port up to the Garden

View from Mount Carmel and the stairways leading down the slopes and terraces of the Bahai Garden
View from on top, simply awesome

This picture was taken off the internet as I failed to take good pictures from Acre ( Akko )
The Ottoman build city walls at Akko

Graph of the Old City of Akko layout,  part of the city is street level and much is underground

Again a picture of the internet, an aerial view of Acre

Entering the Old city of Akko through the Enchanted Garden Gate

The interior is massive and difficult to capture

Areas were excavation is still ongoing.


One of the many underground tunnels, leading into other tunnels and large rooms,  its a maze!
Murales i all along endless walls depicting the various times and people that lived here.

More Murales,  they even had animated ones, but since videos are to large a file to attach I did not include.

The Outside spaces



This one was called the “Knights Hall”. 

Outside the old city walls, were a series of shops.


All so colorful, a variety of beans and spices.  

A graveyard we passed on the way back.  All the grave stones/tombs are above ground though the bodies are buried below.    

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