Greetings from Acre, Israel, where an old fortress recalls the time of the Crusades
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Far-Flung Postcards is a weekly series in which NPR’s international team shares moments from their lives and work around the world.
There are layers of history in the ancient city of Acre (Akko), in northwest Israel, considered to be one of the longest continually inhabited cities in the Middle East.
This video is from the Hospitaller Fortress, where you can try to imagine life during the times of the Crusades. As you wander through the tunnels and halls of the now-underground fortress, projected lights display moving images of the Knights Hospitaller (later known as the Knights of Malta) marching in a funeral procession. The museum does a great job telling the story of the many civilizations that lived here through the centuries.
Next door is the Al-Jazzar Mosque, where there’s a reliquary containing a hair believed to be from the Prophet Muhammad. The winding streets of the old city jut out on a peninsula in the Mediterranean.
While I was only there for a brief stay, taking a break from my news assignment in Israel, this is the kind of place where you want to spend time, peeling back the layers of history, smoking a hookah or nibbling on hummus.
These days, though, the city is quiet. Tourism came to a grinding halt not just because of the war in Gaza but also because of the rocket fire from Lebanon into northern Israel. Acre is a mixed city with Muslim, Jewish, Christian and Baha’i residents, and a rich history, hoping to see tourism resume.
See more photos from around the world:
- Greetings from a Paris park, where a lone sequoia tree is a marvel to behold
- Greetings from Vienna, where an imperial palace hosts a holiday market for all
- Greetings from Chiloé Island, Chile, where the fast-moving tides are part of local lore
- Greetings from Andhra Pradesh, India, where a fragrant food stand feeds working women
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