Crusaders and Virgins
Waking up in an extremely hot and humid Akko, we opted for underground sights and visited a fascinating tunnel built by Crusaders over 900 years ago. The tunnel connects the old Crusader fortress with the harbour. And yes, it is very pleasantly cool. During the latest Lebanon war, it was used as a bomb shelter for the mostly Israeli Arab population of Akko.
Another cool sight was the old hall of the Crusader castle, 8 meters below present ground level. We recognised a lot of the architectural features from our visits to Crusader castles in Syria last year.
In the afternoon, we drove to Nazareth and visited a completely empty (save for a monk) Church of the Annunciation, built on the place where Virgin Mary is said to have been told by an angel that she was carrying Jesus. The building itself is rather new (1969) but it houses fundaments of ancient churches within it.
Crusaders and Virgins
söndag 20 augusti 2006
