Theme Week Israel – Acre, the Crusaders City

17 June 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  6 minutes

Acre Sea Wall © Almog

Acre Sea Wall © Almog

Acre is a city in the northern coastal plain region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the world. The population is at 46,000. Acre is a mixed city. Jewish Israelis live in the New City quarter, while Arab Israelis live in the Old City quarter. Acre is the most “oriental” city in Israel. In 2001, Acre’s Old City has been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Acre is the holiest city of the Bahá’í Faith.   read more…

The German Colony in Palestine

27 May 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  35 minutes

German Colony Jerusalem - Templer Communal House © Shayzu/cc-by-sa-3.0

German Colony Jerusalem – Templer Communal House © Shayzu/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Templers, a religious Protestant sect formed in southern Germany in the 19th century, settled in Palestine at the urging of their leader, Christoff Hoffman, in the belief that living in the Holy Land would hasten the second coming of Christ. The Templers built a colony in keeping with strict urban planning principles and introduced local industries that brought modernity to Palestine, which had long been neglected by the Ottomans. They were the first to organize regular transportation services between Jaffa, Acre and Nazareth, which also allowed for mail delivery. In 1874 the Christian denomination of the Temple Society underwent a schism and later envoys of the Evangelical State Church of Prussia’s older Provinces successfully proselytised among the schismatics, making up about a third of the colonists. Thus the Colony became a place of partisans of two different Christian denominations and their respective congregations.   read more…

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