March 13, 2004

Acco

This week we got to tour a little bit more. We went to Acco, a walled Crusader town across the bay from Haifa. The city is a very interesting mix of Jewish, Christian and Muslim culture over its 5000 year history. Napolean even beseiged the city, then called Saint Jean d'Acre, in 1799.

The Khan El Omdan is an ancient hotel with a beautiful clock tower. The rooms were small and dark.

Khan El Omdan

The market was very crowded and colorful. We saw a five foot long fish, lots of cheap toys (yes we gave in), and a variety of food, from seafood to fruits to pastries.

Open air market

We took a tour of the Citadel, a huge fortress in the center of Acco more than 700 years old. It was used by Turks, Crusaders and as a prison by the British during WWII. There is a tunnel system that leads to the underground crypt.

Underground tunnels

View of Haifa from Acco

We had another branch party Friday night. Scott got flowers because of his birthday. Tyler didn't want to play games with the other kids, so he played with blocks in the nursery.

Tyler being sociable at the branch party.

The highlight of Scott's Saturday was dumpster diving. Tiffany was cleaning out the car and accidentally threw away one of Tyler's new cheap plastic cars from the open air market in Acco. Horror of horrors, Tyler just could not live another moment without it. Fortunately, our trash bag was still on the top of the pile.

Posted by sjbowden at March 13, 2004 11:26 PM