This clock tower was completed in 1906 to mark the 30th anniversary of the reign of the Ottoman sultan, Abdul Hamid II. Similar clock towers were built in Jaffa and Jerusalem to mark the same occasion.

Akko – the old city - north of Haifa and beside the Mediterranean Sea in the northernmost part of Haifa Bay. We came to Akko in early evening to see the city and have dinner by the sea. We walked the streets with mosques and surrounding sea walls first built by the Crusaders, then by an Arab-Bedouin ruler and then by an Ottoman ruler. The city is not touristy – genuine day to day life all around. At nightfall we had dinner at the Abu Christo Restaurant next to the sea. After dinner, we walked the narrow streets and alleys past the old port, hearing the Muslim call to prayer by a muezzin over a loudspeaker. Akko was first mentioned in Egyptian writings about 4000 years ago. It also is mentioned in the Hebrew Scriptures. The old town was part of David’s kingdom and was ruled by the Greeks, Romans Arabs, Crusaders and Ottomans. The Crusaders made Akko the main port of their Christian empire. Napoleon was defeated here in the late 1700’s. Akko is one of the oldest, continuously inhabited sites in Israel.