Israel: Akko

Not many have heard of Akko (Acre) like the other famous ancient cities. But one thing special about this place in Israel is that the great Napoleon never managed to conquer this city. 

Akko is a port that was important during the old times. It was at a tip of Israel, that made it good for trade. For rulers who wanted to conquer Jerusalem, this was a good place for them to enter Israel from. But unfortunately, Akko was a formidable fortress. Today, it remains as a port and a little fishing town. 

The main attraction of Akko is a huge underground city they found that belonged to The Hospitallers from the Crusaders time. These men came to the Holy Land to treat the sick. Archeologists found 1200 square meters of open space in perfect condition, buried underground when the Muslim rulers came to power. Along with that, they dug up a huge dining hall and a secret underground passage. We always fail to admire the beauty of these ruins, dug up from long ago and are still able to stand before our eyes. 

The Muslim rulers who ruled after the crusaders modelled their city like Istanbul, building a mosque resembling the Blue Mosque and a market like the Grand Bazaar.

Well, I remember Akko for two reasons. Firstly, it was there that I had the thought of buying a juicer seen below. It doesn't work on electricity and every juice seller uses it. I like it because it runs on nothing but your hands and is really easy to use. Simply cut the fruit into half, place it in the juicer, press the lever down and tadaaah, juice! Our guide told us about his friend who bought a juicer and travelled round Europe selling juice at parties. He made tonnes of cash but more importantly, he got to see the world at the same time!

Secondly, I had the BEST FISH in Israel. I'm not personally fond of fish, in fact, I rarely eat it in Singapore. But when I got to Israel, I began to crave for fish. The Israelis grill their fish to perfection and it is just soooo good to eat. So, we had lunch at Uri Buri, the best fish restaurant in the whole Israel and never looked back. We ordered red tuna steak and some of their fish dishes and ahhhhhh, we went for seconds. Please, if you're ever in Israel, PLEASE GO TO URI BURI!

Ah, I want some fish right now >:(