Akko is best known through its relationship to the crusades. Some 900 years ago, Crusaders set off for the Holy Land, killing thousands along the way and unleashing one of the darkest periods of Jewish history. There, in vast knights' halls, they feted Richard the Lionhearted, supped on huge feasts of mutton and grog, and prayed that their lord Jesus would guide them in battle against the faithless infidels.
Visitors can walk through the long and winding escape tunnel that once led to the sea.
They can stand beneath the cross-vaulted ceilings and touch the massive columns. They can see the vast halls where 3,000 wounded could be treated at once, and where hundreds of knights donned armor for battle.