Upon the conclusion of our time in Tel Aviv, we headed dead north to Akko, a fairly large, predominantly Muslim village. The map below shows the route from Tel Aviv to Akko (Acre):On our way to Akko, we stopped at a small village in the north for lunch. The village is actually on Mount Carmel, which is actually home to a religious group known as the Druze. After arriving at Mount Caramel, we made our way to a hybrid restaurant/home that hosts groups from different countries to learn about the culture and religious values of the Druze. Below is a picture of the view from the top of Mount Carmel:

A young woman led us from the street where our tour bus let us off to the hybrid restaurant/house. The restaurant/house possessed all sorts of Druze religious symbols including paintings, sculptures, and other antiques.

We entered the establishment and began with an informative session about the Druze. Based on the meeting, our entire group easily grasped the different aspects and beliefs of the Druze. They are a religious group that incorporates various beliefs and ideals from religions such as Islam, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism, Pythagoreanism, and Hinduism. They believe that the number of people who affiliate themselves with the Druze religions remains the same and has always been the same throughout history. How is this conception possible? The Druze believe in reincarnation. They think that every time a Druze dies, a new Druze is born. We asked them countless questions about their interesting religion but their main philosophy, as heavily stressed by the leaders of the session, is reincarnation.

Towards the end of the info session, the woman brought up an extremely interesting point. She explained how the Druze faced religious persecution all throughout their history and still do today, similar to the Jews. Although, the woman explained to us how the establishment of Israel remains the greatest and most pivotal event in the history of the Druze religion. Why is this the case? Simply because Israel provides the Druze with a safe home where they don’t face persecution. The Israeli government ensures that the Druze can live in peace and harmony. In addition, the woman informed us that many members of the Druze religion are actually commanders in the IDF, Israeli Defense Force. She told us that the Druze have earned tremendous respect in Israel due to the success of the Druze in the military.

At the conclusion of the info session, the waiters and waitresses of the establishment came out with enormous plates of ethnic Druze food. Below is a picture of the plates of food they came out with:

We indulged in various dishes such as a cold, meat pizza-type, dates, coos coos, vegetables, chicken, and, of course, hummus. My favorite food out of the entire plate was definitely the cold, meat pizza. I am usually not a big fan of cold pizza but this dish was so special that I ate three slices!

At the conclusion of our lunch, we headed north towards our second of three main destinations in Israel, Akko (Our main destinations were simply places where we housed). We arrived in Akko in the evening at an upscale youth hostel with apartment-style rooms that housed four people. The hostel actually had a beautiful roof, where we could see the entire city of Akko. The picture below shows the view from the roof, including the Mosque:

After eating dinner and hanging out on the roof for the latter part of the evening, we went to bed as we faced a huge day of touring the next day.