Four names describe the same old-town: Aak is the name given by the ancient Greeks followed by the name Acre given to the town by the Crusaders who ruled the town from 1104 until 1291, the name Akka was given by the Ottomans from 1517 until 1912 and the last name Akko is the Hebrew name given to the town in 1948.

What brings me to write about Acre? Well, a forthright ago, the Old Acre Development Company together with the Israeli Ministry of Tourism published a tender to lease out and convert to a boutique hotel, one of Acre’s landmark buildings: Khan al-Umdan "Caravanserai of the Pillars" or "Inn of the Columns”.

This is the largest and best preserved Ottoman period Khan in Israel.

Located in the heart of the Old City of Acre, it is one of the prominent projects constructed during the rule of Ahmed Jezzar Pasha in Galilee, under the Ottomans.

Khan al-Umdan was built in 1784 on the place of the Royal Customs house of the Crusaders Kingdom of Jerusalem.
I was intrigued. The old town of Acre is on UNESCO’s World Heritage list and the Khan is a landmark, one of the old-town’s symbols, so I asked my contacts at the Israeli ministry of Tourism to arrange for me a site inspection tour.

Last week I drove 110 kilometers north of Tel-Aviv to Acre. I was taken to see the Khan. The site has been closed to the public for over a decade. It is in dire need of much care and attention - however, in my view, it’s just an amazing example to the Ottomans’ great architecture.

The Khan, which was the reason for my initial decision to visit Acre, was only the first stop in my tour. From the Khan, we walked to the Acre Harbor.

Acre also benefits from one of the very rare natural harbors on the coast of the Land of Israel. This location helped it become one of the oldest cities in the world, continuously inhabited since the Middle Bronze Age, some 4,000 years ago.

According to the archeologist in charge on the excavations, only around 5% of the ancient town have been excavated.
Just click on the link and read Bob Schulman’s post on on Acre: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-schulman/acre-the-crusaders-last-s_b_7080860.html

If you are more into movies, watch “Kingdom of Heaven” - Acre is mentioned there.
Going in the old alleyways, passing in the crusaders tunnels, underground halls and the old Ottoman Bazaar, I was captivated by the charms of this ancient city.

As someone who has been involved in tourism and hotel development for over 20 years both locally and internationally, I can see the potential of this old somewhat sleepy old town becoming a great tourist spot. In order to get there, what Acre needs are more accommodation in different levels.

At this point in time, Acre has a total of 4 registered hotels - one larger hotel enjoying a beach location outside the old town and 3 small design led boutique hotels inside the old town.

The Khan Umdan hotel is planned and zoned for a 5-stars luxury boutique hotel and could probably accommodate about 50 keys hotel with some facilities.

The second project currently under early stages of development is a small hotel in Acre’s old town and it is on the site of the old Bustan Cinema from the 1960’s.

During the Ottoman days, this building was used as a prison. This hotel will have 50 keys and it is expected to be at a 3-stars superior category.

The third project, which is still in early planning stages, is the conversion of the old “Khan Al – Shawarda” or the “Traders Khan”. The origins of this ancient building dates back to the Crusaders’ time. The plan is to convert this site into approximately 120 keys upscale hotel and additional commercial spaces.

At this point in time, Acre is only a few hours’ stop for some tourists visiting the north of Israel.

I believe that with the right infrastructure in place, namely more hotels, Acre could turn into a huge point of interest and a tourist magnet.

Conversion of old historical buildings into hotels brings new life to those buildings and creates an amazing unique experience for the guests who are staying in those hotels. We know that in today’s rapidly changing world it’s all about customizing the tourists’ experiences.

The town is full of history, great oriental atmosphere and outstanding clear water beaches.

To top it all off, Acre is the holiest city of the Bahá'í faith and receives many Baha'i pilgrims.

The Bahai Gardens, which are located outside the old town walls, create a majestic, beautiful and meticulous display of sculptured perfection and devotion to the Bahai faith.

The gardens are designed in a circular pattern surrounding the historic resting place of Baha’u’llah, the founder of Bahai religion.

The center of the grounds contains the home where Baha’u’llah spent his final days and the shrine where his remains were placed. This is one of the two holiest sites associated with the founders of the Bahai religion

To me, Acre is: Beautiful, Mysterious, Magical…

Just watch the photos and maybe next time you come to Israel, you will find some time to visit Acre and evaluate its tourism potential.

Photos credit: Old Acre Development Company.

Joseph Fischer is the CEO of Vision Hospitality & Travel - An international lodging & hospitality consulting firm. He is a veteran hotelier with over 30 years of extensive management experience in the global lodging Industry.

A strategic “out-of-the-box” thinker, visionary, with plenty of tangible and ready-to-be-implemented ideas. Joseph is a frequent contributing writer on 4Hoteliers.com global new portal.

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