Museums

The Okashi Museum

Next to the Knights’ Halls in Old Acre there is a building with cruciform domes, dating from the Ottoman Period. A museum operates in the building, with temporary exhibits of Israeli art alongside a permanent exhibit of the works of the late Avshalom Okashi. This artist was one of the lynchpins of the New Horizons, a group of artists that was organized in Israel after the War of Independence. Okashi spent most of his life in Acre, where he set up his workshop, which, after his death, became the Okashi Museum. The subjects of his early works are rooted in the nature and human and spiritual reality of Israel and are drawn from Biblical texts.

Opening hours

Sunday through Thursday from 08:30 to 17:00

Fridays and holiday eves from 08:30 to 14:00

Entry fees

Hamam al Basha (the Turkish Bath)

A public bathhouse that was built by El-Jazar in the year 1795 in the format of the Oriental bathhouses that were common in the Turkish Empire during the 18^th and 19^th centuries.

The bathhouse has an entry room that serves as a dressing room, with a marble fountain in the center. A corridor leads from the entry room to a series of hot rooms, the last of which is a hexagonal steam room, with a domed roof supported by four marble columns, with four rooms for individual use, one at each corner.

The bathhouse building is an elegant one and is adorned with marble floors and imported ceramic tiles.

The Story of the Last Bath Attendant - A Performance at the Al Basha Hammam (Turkish Bath)

The Acre Turkish Baths, one of the most beautiful and fascinating sites in the Old City, comes to life through an imaginary play based on a line of bath attendants that tell the history of Acre during the Ottoman Period.

History takes on an especially luscious dimension when seen through the eyes of the bath attendant, because the Turkish Baths were much more than a religious purification house. The Baths served as a social center where people met for rest, entertainment and banquets. The Baths were a meeting place for doctors and barbers and served as a house of luxury for the wealthy and prominent as well as for the common people of the city. This was where they talked, gossiped, laughed and philosophized.

The Al Basha Hammam Theater takes you on a dramatic, fascinating and educating light and sound experience. The lives of a typical family of bath attendants introduce you to the story of Acre from the time the Turkish Baths were built at the end of the 18th century by Jazzar Pasha. He was the Acre governor that turned the small fishing village into a teeming harbor city and a major trade and cultural center.

The experience is comprised of visual elements, the most important being the actual building. The marvelous spaces decorated with ceramic tiles are emphasized with colorful lighting. An authentic soundtrack, original illustrations and carved figures that powerfully depict daily life, historical events and the atmosphere of the Baths, accompany the entire experience. The audience walks through the rooms of the Hammam with the performance and in the last room awaits a surprise. Bath attendant Haj Bashir scrubs, massages and bats and soaps as he weaves the story of the Turkish Baths with the history of Acre and its active social life.
An unforgettable experience.

Opening hours winter:

Sunday through Thursday, holidays and Saturday from 08:30 to 17:00

Fridays and holiday eves from 08:30 to 14:00

Opening hours summer:

Sunday through Thursday, holidays and Saturday from 08:30 to 18:00

Fridays and holiday eves from 08:30 to 17:00

Entry fees

Old Acre
Development Company