The city of Acre (Acco in hebrew) was the first Israeli site recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.  With a history dating back to the Bronze Age (2500 years BC), it's no wonder that this Israeli port city was bestowed with this honor.  From the time of the tribe of Asher's unsuccessful attempt to grab this rocky coastal plateau from the Philistines (Judges 1:31), its value as the main door to the Holy Land has been appreciated by the various conquerors who have ruled this part of the world.

During the first Israelite kingdom, Acre was ruled by a governor appointed by King Solomon.  Later, Alexander the Great conquered the city in 333 BC. and it was eventually named Ptolemais in honor of Alexander's long time friend and trusted general who later ruled Egypt.  This was the name that St Paul knew it by when he visited the city on his final journey to Jerusalem almost 2,000 years ago. You can still see some of the artifacts of the Hellenistic and Roman periods. But the Old City of Acco, approximately 600 square meters occupying Israel's Mediterranean coastline, boasts some of the best preserved Crusader structures in the world.

The Armenian Quarter of the Old City is one of the most fascinating and often overlooked areas of the Old ity. Nestled between the Moslem quarter and the Jewish Quarter, the Armenian quarter is in fact a mini city onto itself and includes a vast compound of schools, stores, restaurants, seminaries, churches and monastaries, and residences all of which are located around the  and offices of the Armenian Patriarchate. Much of the area was once covered by the palace of Herod the Great. Travelujah had the great pleasure of touring the Armenian Quarter for the last 11 years.

Armenia has a long and very rich history in the Holy Land. It was the first nation to adopt Christianity as its official religion and  the 4^th Century and Armenian pilgrims have been coming to visit Jerusalem since the 5^th

Tags: st. james armenian church armenian quarter old city church of the holy arch angels