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| · July 1, 2003 · |
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· Akko Unveils Restored Turkish Bath As Museum Recalling Romance Of A Bygone Era Unesco Heritage Site Draws Visitors To Mediterranean PortAKKO, Israel - The El-Basha Turkish Bath - or Hamam - built by the Ottoman Turks in this Israeli port city in 1795, has been transformed into one of the country's most charming museums, says Rami Levi, Tourism Ambassador of Israel to North and South America. Akko (in English, known as Acre) is one of three UNESCO Heritage Sites in Israel (the others are the Old City of Jerusalem and Masada), and has been a draw for visitors ever since it became the capital of the Crusader Kingdom in the twelfth century. Abandoned since the late 1950's, the El-Basha Hamam is a giant and elegant network of marble-lined steam rooms, domed massage areas, ornate scrubbing rooms and relaxation chambers. Here, in a ritual invented millennia ago by the Romans, Ottoman Turks would soothe away the day's aches, sweat and grime in an atmosphere where gossip was exchanged and bodies soaked, near-boiled and then sprawled atop marble slabs to be scrubbed clean by beefy masseurs. The whole experience has been captured in the new "Hamam Museum" - opened in June - that is the first restoration completed in Akko since the UNESCO status was announced in 2002. Audio-Visual elements tell the story of the site. Pewter sculptures of bathers recreate the sultry atmosphere of the Turkish Bath. Towels hang out to dry. Light is exquisitely admitted through the ancient windows in the Hamam's dome (left). Akko, twenty minutes north of Haifa, and ninety from Tel Aviv, is a delightful Mediterranean port. Waves crash against the ramparts and the harbor brims with fishing boats. Its Ahmed Jazzar Mosque is Israel's largest outside Jerusalem. Akko's underground Crusader City, is a magnificently restored and lit network of vaulted halls and chambers. The massive fortress built by the Knights Hospitaller, the Turkish Caravanserai market and the Akko Jail (the 1946 raid on Akko jail was immortalized in the movie Exodus) are also currently being restored. Media Contact: Julie Stein WEILL 212-288-1144 jstein@geoffreyweill.com Dana Kempler 323-658-7463 danakempler@imot.org |
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