On our fifth day of the tour, after visiting the white cliffs of Rosh Hanikra, we drove to Acre (or Akko) to walk the medieval fortress and Old Town of the city, dating back to the times of the Crusades. Conveniently located in a natural harbor on the extremity of Haifa Bay, Acre's strategic position along the easternmost part of the Mediterranean coastline, together with its role as an important way station along the coastal roads and inland trails into the Jezreel Valley, made this a crucial port city. In 1104 AD, following the First Crusades, the city was captured by the forces of King Baldwin I of Jerusalem. Over the ensuing two hundred years it became an important fortress city for the Crusaders, allowing them to profit handsomely from trade and to defend many of their positions in the Holy Land. But constant warfare with the region's Muslim empires eventually whittled down the Crusader forces in the Holy Land and by 1191, during the Third Crusades led by King Richard I of England and King Edward II of France, the Crusaders had to retreat to Acre, which became the de facto capital of what was left of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The city eventually fell to the Muslim Mamluk empire in 1291 and was destroyed, effectively ending the Crusader period. Today, sections of the crusader citadel, which was administered by the Third Crusades' Knights Hospitaller, have been preserved or reconstructed. The Old Town section of Acre is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is still enclosed by its former defensive walls (which were rebuilt under the Ottoman period). We toured the Crusader remains, meandered through the Old Town public market, crossed the length of the Crusader Tunnel and walked parts of the fortress wall ramparts. Afterwards, we traveled southeast for about an hour to the ancient city of Nazareth to visit the Basilica of the Annunciation, a vast Catholic Church complex built over the site where, according to the bible, the angel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary and told her she would be conceiving the Son of God...