A Visit Home: Day 17 - Hello, Akko!

Agenda!

We made it to the Mediterranean - the city of Akko! Also known as "Acre", this place has rich and dense history. Intertwined with the gorgeous sea, the crusader's thumbprint, and patriotic tales - it's the ideal place to represent Israel.

First, after waking up at 6:30 this morning, we packed up and drove down here. Our first sight was the Lebanese border (picture to come). This was exciting for me, because I have been told my great-great grandpa immigrated from Lebanon. Even if that's not entirely accurate, it was exciting to be close to another nation. We watched as soldiers with special clearance were allowed to speed through the gates. UN officials held seemingly diplomatic discussions with the IDF guards nearby.

We proceeded to take a cable car down the mountains, overlooking the sea. There were many caves carved out by the water, which we explored. It was exciting!

I had a crash course in Crusader history when we visited their old fortress. The ancient building held many secret passageways, which were previously meant only for officials to use. After all that learning, we had yummy hummus for lunch!

Next stop was the Akko prison, which I had never heard of before. I'm so glad we went, because going there opened up my eyes to much of Israel's history with Great Britain. It invloved an example of true zionism, and the tradgey of fying for a cause. You can read more about it here, if you are interested: http://www.akko.org.il/en/Old-Acre-The-Underground-Prisoners-Museum-

Finally, we did Talmid studies, proceeded by a Lamb Shawarma dinner. A very nice day, indeed.