Sights and Entertainment No itinerary can do justice to the aura of history and conflict that emanates from the ruins and fortifications of old Akko. To reach the Old City from the bus station by foot, walk down Ben Ami St. to Weizmann St. and turn left. The entrance to the Old City is just past Eli Cohen Park on the left.

As you pass the Al-Jazzar wall, look for the moat beneath the Burj al-Kommander to the left. The entrance to the Mosque of Al-Jazzar is to your right on Al-Jazzar St. The third largest mosque in Israel and the most important one outside Jerusalem, it dominates this city of monuments with its green dome and sleek minaret. Ahmed al-Jaz-zar ordered its construction in 1781 on what is believed to have been the site of San Croce, the original Christian cathedral of Akko. Inside is an attractive courtyard with Roman columns taken from Caesarea. The western end of the courtyard rests upon the cellar of a Crusader fortress. The surrounding structures are lodgings for students of the Qur’an and the personnel of the mosque. The small building in front of the mosque houses the sarcophagi of Ahmed al-Jazzar and his adopted son, Suleiman Pasha. The tower was destroyed by an earthquake in 1927, but promptly restored; the rest of the complex is in magnificent condition.

In front of the mosque sits an octagonal sabil (fountain) where the faithful perform wudhu, the ritual washing of their heads, hands, and feet before entering the sanctuary. Inside, in the green cage on the balcony to the right, is a shrine containing a hair from the beard of the prophet Muhammad. As in all mosques, prayers are conducted five times per day, and you will be asked to wait or return in 20 minutes if you arrive during a prayer session.