Religions and Spirituality in Akko
Explore the mysteries of the Sufi culture and more…
About Wisam
Wisam is a licensed tour guide and his family has lived in Akko for generations.
He is fluent in Hebrew, Arabic and English. Today he also learns Dutch (his wife’s native language).
As a child, Wisam wandered the city alleys during the day and at night dreamed of the secrets hidden in the lower strata beneath the houses of Akko.
20 years later, working as a locksmith and blacksmith, BA in General History and Art History, Wisam completed a Tour Guide Course in 2015 and since then he has enjoyed sharing his much caring for Akko, its history and its many attractions with tourists from Israel and the world.
In addition to being a two-layer city, Crusader and Ottoman, Akko is a central city for all religions.
Wisam grew up in a Sufi environment in the Zawiyat al-Shaziliyya Yashruti compound and worked in a locksmith shop located in the shadow of the house of the Bahá’í Prophet Baha’u’llah.
He understood and assimilated the importance of Akko as a spiritual center. In his tours, Wisam shares and tells stories of the different religions and orders that existed in Akko and visits, as part of the tour, sites that are important to the various religions.
About the tour
“Religions and Spirituality in Akko”
‘Religions and Spirituality in Akko’ is a tour that focuses on spirituality in Akko in the modern period (from the 18th century to the present). The tour focuses on Islam and Islamic mysticism, Judaism in Akko and the Baha’i religion which spiritual center is Akko.
The tour lasts about three hours and begins at the Akko Visitor Center at 1 Weizmann Street.
From here the tour comes to the following points:
*The Ramchal Synagogue and Jewish Heritage Center
Al-Jazzar Mosque (visiting the mosque involves a fee)*
*The Sufi compound Zawiyat El-Shadhuliyya
* Peek at Baha’u’llah’s window.
Emphasis for the tour:
Be sure to wear modest clothing at the holy sites.
At the Al Jazzar Mosque: Women with headdresses and covered arms, men with pants that cover the knees.
