The Underground City of Akko · Living Underground for Centuries

In the time of the Crusades Akko was their last capital, and they built a vast underground city there: the knights’ hall, tunnels, water storage and drainage.

When the Crusaders were driven out, these lower buildings were buried whole beneath the city built on top, and were not dug out again until the twentieth century.

The tunnel runs all the way to the sea. First-time visitors often stop inside, because it is quiet enough to hear your own heartbeat — and seven hundred years ago it was this quiet too.

Historical Mysteries / Akko · Israel / 12th century