Greetings from Acre, Israel, where an old fortress recalls the time of the Crusades

"This video is from the Hospitaller Fortress, where you can try to imagine life during the times of the Crusades. As you wander through the tunnels and halls of the now-underground fortress, projected lights display moving images of the Knights Hospitaller (later known as the Knights of Malta) marching in a funeral procession. The museum does a great job telling the story of the many civilizations that lived here through the centuries."

"Next door is the Al-Jazzar Mosque, where there's a reliquary containing a hair believed to be from the Prophet Muhammad. The winding streets of the old city jut out on a peninsula in the Mediterranean. While I was only there for a brief stay, taking a break from my news assignment in Israel, this is the kind of place where you want to spend time, peeling back the layers of history, smoking a hookah or nibbling on hummus."

Acre (Akko) is an ancient coastal city in northwest Israel with layers of history and recognition as one of the Middle East's longest continually inhabited cities. The Hospitaller Fortress contains subterranean tunnels and halls with projected images recreating Knights Hospitaller processions, and a museum presenting successive civilizations. Adjacent Al-Jazzar Mosque houses a reliquary said to contain a hair of the Prophet Muhammad. The old city's winding streets project onto a Mediterranean peninsula, offering experiences like hookah and hummus amid historical layers. Tourism has sharply declined because of the war in Gaza and rocket fire from Lebanon, and the mixed Muslim, Jewish, Christian and Baha'i population hopes for tourism's return.

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