Jaffa – my last stop in Israel
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Jaffa, western port of the Canaanite empire, 1470 BCE.
Pharaoh Thutmose III sought to regain Egypt’s control over the lands as far as Syria. He presented large baskets full of ‘gifts’ to the governor of Jaffa, an important port city of Canaan. Little did the governor know about armed Egyptian warriors hidden in those baskets.
Jaffa (जाफा, also called Yafo), located south of Tel Aviv, is among the oldest cities in Israel and consequently has a very turbulent and bloody history.
Jaffa port and a Turkish Minaret
History:
Archaeological evidence shows that Jaffa was inhabited some 7,500 BCE, which is really really old 
It occurred in recorded history only around the time of Canaan’s and was subsequently controlled by various powers – Canaanites, Egyptians, Philistines, Jews, Arabs, Mamluks, Christians, Turks, Napoleon, British etc. (not necessarily in that order!).
In 1947 when the UN plan to divide Israel and Palestine was declared, Jaffa, being a Arab town, was designated as an Arab enclave inside Jewish Israel. Riots followed and in 1948 Arab-Israeli war, the Jews conquered Jaffa. Arab residents fled. In 1954, Tel-Aviv and Jaffa were united under a municipality and Jaffa, or Yafo as it is called today, was converted to a cultural and historical center.
Today, Yafo has a mixed population of the three religions of the book.
Clock tower built in the honor of the Ottoman ruler
Welcome to Jaffa – the place from where I blogged months ago.
Seen in the picture is the clock tower of Jaffa, a monument erected in the first decade of 20th century in honor of the Ottoman Turks. By local standards, this is a brand new structure! In the old days, the clock square served as a welcome plaza to people who arrived to the town. There are markets (called shuk/शूक्) and narrow streets all around.
Guarding the sea port
Tourism:
Parts of the Old City have been renovated, turning Jaffa into a tourist attraction featuring old restored buildings, art galleries, theaters, souvenir shops, restaurants, sidewalk cafes and promenades. Several remodeling projects were underway and I think the government is actively promoting this area as a pleasant drive away from the hustle and bustle of Tel Aviv. Large number of visitors are seen during evenings and weekends, hanging out on the spiraling paths looking over the Mediterranean sea.
A typical alley. An art store appears suddenly in one of those little rooms
The old town itself is a maze of narrow stone streets and buildings. There were expensive cafes, restaurants, art galleries, souvenir shops and even a couple of museums. There are a couple of Churches and chapels, remainants of the Crusader era and a large Mosque that broadcasts a melodious morning azaan.
The Wishing Bridge. Apart from world peace, I wished for lot of money for myself. Neither came true 
Doing ‘nothing’ in Jaffa
Since I was very stressed at the end of my travels and work, I simply cooled off for two days and did nothing but hangout on the stone façades soaking the breeze from the sea.
One of my most pleasant memories was having a breakfast in a rundown eatery. It was full of cab drivers are wage workers but the food was heavenly. Simple pita bread, spiced hummus, falafel, fried eggplant and other assorted vegetables. Inspite of having similar kind of food for two weeks, this place somehow remained etched in my memory. I watched people moving stuff in carts and shouting from one end of the street to the other, signaling by hand gestures that the truck can pass. It made a great animation while writing my journal and sipping endless cups of mint tea. Occasionally someone would pass by and say hello. A simple ‘Walikum es salaam‘ reply would bring a wide grin on their faces.
On my last day
Series to be concluded in the next post.
Pictures and slideshow: Tel-Aviv and Yafo Photo Gallery
Previous post: Charms of Tel Aviv city | Next post: Exit from Israel
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Hey !
Did you happen to visit “Dr. Shakshuka” by any chance in Jaffa ??? Its an tripolitan/moroccan eatery … decorated in the most unlikely fashion … the whole roof is covered with old kerosene stoves …
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Kerosene_stove.jpg
and the food is wonderfully wonderful…
thanks to my amazing colleagues, I had the best of middleeastern foods in tel aviv at the best possible places
another wonderful thing was an almond based drink available at Carmel market …
*drooling*
↵Hi Harshal:
Ah, no, I didn’t go that place. Sounds really good !!
I had some Almond chocolate desserts in Carmel market – yes
Wish I was in TA for a longer time. I had lot of foods in TA university canteen though!
↵The first picture is my favorite: beautiful!
I’d love to visit Israel one day, there is so much culture around.
↵Thanks Zhu
↵Someone had to say it so I might as well be the one who does “How Trojan of the Pharaoh”. Excellent pictures. Love the picture of the street especially. Isn’t it amazing that it is the satellite dishes that truly unite the world, they have this uncanny habit of creeping in to people’s photographs no matter where you are.
↵Odzer:
Satellite dishes and empty bottles of Coke and Pepsi!
↵That’s the perfect analogy! Not sure if they had equally sexy characters
“I wished for lot of money for myself. Neither came true”
–Saving for your next travel?
Nice pics..
↵the first photo is amazing
↵the post is zimple wanderful !
Manasa
↵Spot on! I will do what I can do – i.e. spend more, wish more
Prax:
↵Daankyu
Hello Priyank. You have a neat blog here. Informations you have about the countries that you have visited will definetly help me during my travel plans. Thanks.
↵Ajeya:
↵Welcome to my website, nice to see your comment here. I hope the travel blogs can help, feel free to email if you have specific questions
Great pics man, can’t wait for the next one!
↵Sudipta:
↵Thanks! This was the last one from Israel series but I am going on another trip soon!
Wow, that is old lol, and BTW is that clock tower crooked?, the clock tower square should have been squared.
↵Bob:
j/k. It’s not a leaning tower of Jaffa but the photo needs perspective correction to fix the edges. Too lazy to use photoshop I guess.
↵LOL Stop making fun of this amateur photographer…
Sometimes doing nothing is a great way to experience a holiday
↵Lakshmi:
↵I agree, it was very relaxing and refreshing
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↵Hi Priyank — just finished the last couple entries (and then reread from the start again) You make me really miss Israel and Israelis, and I thank you for taking the time to write this lovely blog and post the photos.
So — did you return to Tel Aviv for school in 2009?
↵Hello AZZenny! Thanks and welcome again! I couldn’t go to Israel unfortunately. Due to the economic circumstances, my school could not afford to sponsor me, and there was no way I could fund my travel on my own. So that sucks.
↵