 
Israel Travel Diary
March 1997
The
Difference a Day in Acre Makes
Acco Harbor - Charlie, Dennis, Clay, Harold,
Francis
I didn’t know that it was so easy to find
the eastern entrance to the old city of Acre. On previous
occasions we had gone in by the north side of the harbor
and on a couple of times in the past wandered thru the
city and finally found the front entrance. Today we went
straight into the old city on the eastern side without a
hitch and parked at the old guy’s place on the left
after you pass through the Crusader walls. He watches the
car for us and protects our clothes.
Acre was important as a Crusader
fortress for two hundred years and for about twenty-five
centuries was the most important port in the eastern
Mediterranean. Steamships found Haifa more suitable for
them and Acre receded into history, no longer an
important port.
It is a small city with all of the
charm and color of a typical Middle Eastern city. Its
square towers, tin domed mosques and beautiful old walls
give it an air of intrigue without the squalor or
fierceness that we often associate with Middle Eastern
cities. I can walk all of Acre without climbing steps at
every turn.
I love the market. It is the center
of activity and offers everything imaginable, all of it
out in the open. I suspect that the market of today is
very similar to the markets the Romans established during
their long rule in this area. Each market stall
specializes in specific things, such as vegetables,
spices, beef, lamb, fish, sweets, bread and so on.
Walking and listening to the sounds and smelling the
melange of aromas is a real experience.
We walked all over Acre. Climbed the
seawall. Looked at the ocean. Went through the Crusader
city. When we left, it was still Acre but we were
different.
The Difference In Me
I like to read the Bible. Morning, noon and night.
To search the sheets of wisdom filled with delight.
Bringing heavy burdens, cares and woes.
To feel the comfort flow from pages the Spirit shows.
Carrying to the One who knows my needs and lows.
To get a course correction.
Lending a helping hand, a whispered word of love.
When I get up off my knees, He’s still God.
I am different.
Clay April 1997
 - Dan
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