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The Crusaders conquered Akko (Acre) in 1095 AD
Akko was their only port in the Holy Land
They lost it to the Turkish Empire in 1291 AD
Till 1994, only 3 halls were discovered, 1, 2 and 3, at half height
The access to hall 2 was through a window
Later on when we started full excavations in 1994, we discovered 11 halls
In 1994 I asked the chief archaeologist - Dr. David - who told me
that there should be 7 halls, one for each Order
This is hall 6
In hall 7 we found a complete sugar factory
with 450 tools to produce sugar
Akko was the only port in the Holy Land
so it became a distribution center for sugar, cotton, spices
and other products to the whole Middle East
this was the only port
no Tel Aviv, no Jaffa, no Haifa, Akko was the only port
That's the reason that everybody came to Akko
Look at the findings from the Roman times, Hellenistic
Look at the Hellenistic wall that was catapulted
One city on top of the other
This was the Capella of the fortress
where Jews and Muslims were slaughtered
Some groups pray here asking pardon, in the Capella, for the Crusaders sins
and beneath us there is a lower floor
the city was build on layers
An important symbol of Christianity
Even with its sails
These were hidden steps used by the king
from his residence on the 3rd floor to the dinning hall
We are entering the hall declared by UNESCO
as the most beautiful hall world wide
Wow!
Did you here the Wow?
This is a big surprise
Here we plan to serve a Cruzades menu
and have a special show outside
To honour the king they built the Fleur de Lis
Can you see the toilet seat?
What's the period? Crusades 1200 AD
These are the toilet seats
This is a bidet
The Crusaders learnt from the Muslims to clean themselves with water
Prior to that Europeans used leaves and stones
The knight used to send his slave to warm the toilet before using it
This is the only fortress worldwide, that had toilets in the 2nd and 3rd floors
We found here huges quantities of lime against for disinfection
All these tunnels lead to the sea
and if attacked they could escape with their boats
Look upwards
This is where we were earlier and looked downwards
We are entering the Experience Hall where the story of 5 generations is told
The Turkish bath was based on hot water streaming below the floor
cold water was sprayed over it to create steam
"Of all towns along the Syrian's shore, from Antioch to Gaza,
there is no ther town whose history's so full of events such as Acre,
and there is no other town whose influence on the whole country's fate was grand"
Laurence Olifent (1882)