Jaffa is located in the southern part of Tel Aviv, but world’s away from one another in character. While Tel Aviv is a modern invention, Jaffa has been around as a city and port since ancient times. Located on the Mediterranean for a least 4000 years, it is the place where Jonah set sail and where the apostle Peter had his vision at the home of Simon the Tanner. It is the same port where King Solomon brought the cedars of Lebanon to build the Temple and where Napoleon laid siege on Jaffa against the Ottoman Turks in 1799. It was also where the famous Jaffa oranges were loaded onto ships and sent out to be introduced to the world.
Today it is a place where Jews, Christians and Muslims live together, side-by-side. You can hear the call to prayer in Arabic from the Moazin, Hebrew spoken in the streets, and the sound of St. Peter’s church bells.
There are old buildings with decorative pointed archways, colorful domes, wooden window shutters and french blue street signs, to feast your eyes upon. We enjoyed the small boutiques, bakeries, antique shops, street murals, and the trendy one-of-a-kind restaurants. Wandering the small multi-cultural streets, there is so much to discover both old and new. Jaffa is exotic and at the same time you can almost feel as if you are in Manhattan’s East Village.
You can stroll along the azure/indigo sea, watch the fishermen, attend a service at St. Peter’s Church, stroll through the old city with its art galleries, shop at the well known flea market, relax at the a park overlooking the sea, and enjoy local Mediterranean cuisine and seafood.
What makes Jaffa most famous for me, is that my lovely daughter lives there! It has become a popular place for young people to live because of its artsy village like atmosphere. On our last visit to Israel, Talia took us to her favorite restaurant, Puah, where we enjoyed its imaginative menu and eclectic furnishings and ambience. We later took a stroll colliding into a beautiful Ethiopian Wedding celebration overlooking a view the sea and Tel Aviv skyline.
Join us on a tour and let us introduce you to the charms of Jaffa.
