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Acre

The earliest recorded mention of settlement in Acre/Akko may be a 16th century BCE reference to Aak in a tribute list for Pharaoh Thutmose III. Akko gets a minor biblical mention in Judges 1:31 as a place where the tribe of Asher did not drive out Canaanites when they were conquering this area (possibly sometime around the 14th to 12th centuries BCE). The city had a well-protected harbor, fertile hinterland and strategic position between Egypt and Phoenicia.

As with many ruins in Israel, Acre has layers reflecting different time periods. Many of the surface buildings date from the Ottoman era in the 18th century, but they were built on the filled-in ruins of Crusader era halls from the 12th century. The remarkably well-preserved subterranean Crusader structures were cleared out and opened for visitation.

One of the highlights of the visit was the Templar Tunnel, a subterranean tunnel from the Crusader period that was partially filled with water and was used to ferry contraband from the port without paying duties.

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