Al-Jazzar Mosque Originally uploaded by upyernoz
i keep almost writing a post about akko/acre. it feels like mrs. noz and i were just there. we arrived at the train station from haifa, and then walked through the jewish part of town, up the street with the market and then through the walls of the old city (and thus the beginning of the arab part). it seems that we walked right through the area that's been the site of the recent riots.
things seemed really peaceful when we were there. after jerusalem, where everyone seemed to be wearing their sect on their sleeve, akko appeared to be a model of jewish-arab coexistence. but how can you really tell when you're just passing through as a tourist? everyone wanted to put on a good face for us, keep us happy so that we would go home and tell all our friends what a great place the city is to visit. you know, keep those tourist shekels flowing. which is why i'm always suspicious of the people who act like they're an expert about some place just because they've visited there. it's true that visiting a place can spur an interest and get you reading more about it on your own. i'm certainly paying more attention to these riots than i would be if i hadn't been there so recently. but other than giving me a good mental image of where this is taking place, i'm not sure if my experience adds much to my understanding of what is going on. what i do know i get that from reading about it, something anyone could do even if they never set foot in northern israel.
