{"id":2315,"date":"2014-10-04T19:39:19","date_gmt":"2014-10-04T19:39:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/?p=2315"},"modified":"2014-10-12T16:02:45","modified_gmt":"2014-10-12T16:02:45","slug":"akko-historic-port-on-the-coast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/akko-historic-port-on-the-coast\/","title":{"rendered":"Akko, Historic Port on the Coast"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Tom Brennan
\n\"Akko\"<\/a>
\nIf you have seen the 1960 movie Exodus you will recognize Akko or Acre. It is the scene for a historic Irgun-led prison break from a forbidding fortress\/prison where the British kept prisoners they regarded as dangerous to peace in their Mandated territory. That prison\/fortress is now a historic shrine to Israel’s past and the heroes who endured harsh treatment at the hands of the British Empire until 1947.<\/p>\n

Akko has a history that dates far back beyond the 1918 Mandates into the Canaanite times when it was a thriving seaport. The city served its conquerors, Seleucid\/Hellenistic, Roman and later overlords well. But during the turbulent period of the Crusades the city rose to prominence as a headquarters for the Knights Hospitalers. This was a time when orders of European knights were formed of fighting men at arms who took the vows of ascetic monks and brothers and journeyed to the Holy Land in various expeditions,. They established European style kingdoms and built impressive castles and fortifications. The invasions were unsuccessful and eventually the Latins were forced to retreat. The Ottomans built a city over the remains of the Frankish city and literally created a wonder to behold as seen today.<\/p>\n

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