.Akko | C I T I N E R A R I E S

This was a family and friends day, so we’ve mixed a bit of sightseeing with local ingredients for a full flavored Middle Eastern itinerary.

We started the itinerary late that day at the very northwestern tip of Israel, at the border with Lebanon. It is the site of a maze of grottos at Rosh HaNikra.

A 1 1/2 minute and 210-foot descend ride by cablecar brought us to the grottos. There is also a short documentary about the tunnel dug here in 1941 to extend the Cairo-Haifa rail line to Beirut. We didn’t know about the path that crosses the Rosh Hanikra beach and the “little train” tour, more details at goisrael.
I’m sure kids would enjoy that too!

Late afternoon we head to Akko for a gastronomic tour. Always loved Old Akko so we’re happy to find that UNESCO declared the Old City of Akko a World Heritage Site in 2001! Here’s a world heritage tour from 1001wonders.org.

We did sort of a cross Akko tour, stopping at a Lokum Baklava pastry shop where we’ve grabbed some delicious traditional arabic sweets. I was looking especially for knafe, but I think the best ones are still to be found in only one place in Nazareth I’m still trying to get back to.

We had a delicious dinner at Ouda Restaurant. The patio is great for a family with children, it has enough safe room for kids’ play appetite. The menu was seafood of course, with the usual multitude of flavorful appetizers, including a humus that I absolutely loved. It might not be the best Sayid humus in town that I now find in all reviews, but it’s certainly the best humus I had, with just a hint of babaganoush. An absolute delight!