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Acre (Acce) – Half hour drive north of Haifa. While
it’s been around for thousands of years, it is as a medieval fortress-city,
beseiged by Richard the Lion-Hearted, that really draws the interest, with
it’s enormous St. John’s Crypt, medieval city walls, and the El Jazzar Mosque. Napoleon made it here and so did Saladin, a famous
Arab warrior. Even Rambam, an important figure in Jewish history, made it
here from Spain in the 1400s. |
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a cruise of the bay – one skipper is known to give mini-history lessons
in a colorful way during the cruise. Afterwards walk around the old Arab
market and have a falafel and houmous, an Arab specialty. There’s also
a family water sports park adjacent to one of the hotels. |
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Caesarea – Half hour drive south of Haifa. This is the city built
by King Herod to honor Caesar Augustus and the ruins of the ancient aqueduct,
port, moat, and city walls are impressive. A great place for kid exploration.
Kids like to run up and down the steps of the Roman coliseum, where
they can talk to each other from the far corners of the structure: the
Romans worked out the acoustics so well that talking at a normal pitch,
your voice easily carries. The coliseum is still in use for modern-day
shows scheduled at sunset. Add the view of the sun setting on the Mediterranean
Sea, and you’re sure to be dazzled. |
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Village markets – About twenty minutes southeast of
Haifa you’ll find Drurze towns with wonderful artisan work in the markets
(check for market days) – along the coast the town of Ein Hod is
famous for its artist galleries. The Druze, numbering several tens of thousands
in Israel, often sport turban headdress (men, that is.) Most live in picturesque
mountain towns and excel in high-quality Turkish coffee, popular with tourists,
and goat cheese. |
