Old Jaffa

Jaffa is an ancient city in Israel. It is now part of the municipality of Tel Aviv-Yafo in the Tel Aviv District, where the mound of ancient Jaffa in “Old Jaffa” is now part of a park in south-western Tel Aviv. Jaffa is a port city on the Mediterranean Sea and the historic gateway into Israel. It is mentioned twice in the Hebrew Bible, once as the port-of-entry for the cedars of Lebanon for Solomon's Temple ( Chronicles II ) and once as the place from whence the prophet Jonah embarked for Tarshish (Book of Jonah I:3). It was an important city in the Arab Middle East before Israel was established. During the Crusades it was the County of Jaffa, a stronghold of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

IS one of the most ancient port cities in the world. Some claim that Jaffa was named after Japheth, one of the three sons of Noah, who built it after the Great Flood. A Hebrew etymology indicates that the city is called Jaffa because of its beauty (yofi in Hebrew). The Hellenist tradition links the name to "Iopeia", which is Cassiopeia, the mother of Andromeda. However the Hellenist accounting for the name dates from hundreds of years after the original naming.

Ancient period

The ancient site of Jaffa is now a 40-meter (130 ft.) high hill (Tel Yafo, or "Jaffa Hill"). The hill is suitable for fortifications and defense, and at its foot lie springs which supply fresh water. The accumulation of debris and landfill has over time increased the original strategic advantage of the hill by augmenting its wide field of view over the adjacent coastline.

Jaffa's natural harbor has been occupied since the Bronze Age. It is mentioned in an Ancient Egyptian letter from 1470 BC, glorifying its conquest by Pharaoh Thutmose III, who hid armed warriors in large baskets and gave the baskets as a present to the Canaanite city's governor. The city is also mentioned in the Amarna letters under its Egyptian name Ya-Pho. In 1991,  a replica of the Egyptian gate lintels, bearing the titles of Pharaoh Ramesses II, was re-erected on its original site. The city was under Egyptian rule until around 800 BC.

Jaffa is mentioned in the Book of Joshua as the border of the Tribe of Dan's territory. It appears that many of the descendants of Dan, for whom the entire coastal plain is named (Gush Dan), lived along the shore and earned their living from shipmaking and sailing. This is mentioned in the "Song of Deborah" the prophetess, in her complaint: "Why will Dan dwell in ships?" for Dan did not help Judge Barak Ben- Avinoam in their war.

King David and his son King Solomon conquered Jaffa and ruled it, and via its port the cedars which were used in the construction of the First Temple arrived from Tyre. The city remained in Jewish hands even after the split of the Kingdom of Israel. In 701 BC the city port was used by Sennacherib, king of Assyria, to invade Israel in the time of King Hezekiah.

Jaffa was a Seleucid port until the Maccabean rebel princes took it. During the Jewish Revolt, Jaffa was taken and burned by Cestius and eight thousand inhabitants were massacred (according to Josephus). Pirates operating from the rebuilt port incurred the wrath of Vespasian, who razed the city and erected a citadel in its place. Vespasian placed a Roman garrison in the citadel.

Christian Jaffa

According to the New Testament it was at Jaffa that St. Peter resurrected the widow Tabitha, a name interpreted Dorcas (Acts, ix, 36-42), whose tomb is still the object of popular pilgrimage. Unimportant during the first centuries of Christianity, Jaffa did not have a bishop until the fifth century AD. It was captured during the Crusades, and became the County of Jaffa and Ascalon, one of the vassals of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. One of its counts, John of Ibelin, wrote the principal book of the Assizes of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. During the period of the Crusades, the Jewish traveller Benjamin of Tudela (1170) sojourned at Jaffa, and found there just one Jew, a dyer by trade. Saladin took it in 1187. It was surrendered to King Richard the Lionheart in 1192. 

Modern Jaffa

After more the 300 hundred of ottoman rule, and a brief rule of napoleon, Jaffa has started her modern period. by the beginning of the twentieth century, the population of Jaffa had swelled considerably and new suburbs were built on the sand dunes along the coast. By 1909, the new Jewish suburbs north of Jaffa were reorganized as the city of Tel Aviv.

The poverty of the population threatened the continuation of active life in Jaffa as a thriving city. In 1968, the government of Israel and the Tel Aviv-Jaffa municipality decided to establish a corporation for the development of Old Jaffa, entrusting to it the task of averting the total destruction of Old Jaffa's glorious past.
Today, Modern Jaffa has a heterogeneous population of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. The city is now an integral part of the municipality of Tel Aviv-Yafo.

Jaffa is a major tourist attraction with an exciting combination of old, new and restored. It offers art galleries, souvenir shops, exclusive restaurants, sidewalk cafes, boardwalks and shopping opportunities and a rich variety of culture, entertainment and food (fish restaurants).

Places to visit

The Clock Square: built in 1906, (Ottoman period) in a gesture of honor to the Sultan Abed al-Hamid II's 25th anniversary, became the center of Jaffa, and it is centered between Jaffa's markets.
 The Abulafia bakery: in Yeffeth Street (the main street of Jaffa) are a famous restaurant and a symbol of Jewish-Arab coexistence.

Mahamoudia Mosque: which was built by Abu Nabut (the city governor during the 19th century- the ottoman period) and includes a water fountain ("Savil") for pilgrims.
St. Peter Church: a Franciscan church, built in the 19th century on the remains of Crusaders' fortress, which serves also as a hostel. It is told that Napoleon stayed in that church while it was a hostel.
The Andromeda rock: according to legends this was the rock to which beautiful Andromeda was chained. How to find it? Just look straight to the see, and than you will notice a line of rocks, and this is the Andromeda rock.

The Zodiac alleys: a network of restored alleys, full with art galleries, which lead to the Jaffa seaport. mean time you walking, you can look after your zodiac sign in one of the alleys. 
Jaffa's Old Seaport: just go to the sea and than you will notice the remnant of ancient wall and a beautiful authentic wharf.

Jaffa's Hill: a center for archeological excavations of the ancient cities. The most ancient are the Ancient Egyptian gates, about 3,500 years old, which were restored.

The Libyan Synagogue: called Beit Zunana was purchased by the Jewish landlord Zunana in the 18th century. During the 19th century it stopped being used as a synagogue, and became a hostel and later a soap factory. In 1948 it was re-established as a synagogue for Libyan Jewish immigrants, and in 1995 it became a museum. 

museums & galleries (+972)

YEMENITE ART BY BEN-ZION DAVID - MAZAL DAGIME 3, TEL (0)3- 6812503

ETHNIC ARTS & CRAFTS - MAZAL DAGIM 1, TEL. 03- 6825270

MANNSOHN HOUSE GALLERY - KIKAR KEDUMIM 6, TEL.054-551400

BAR KOCHVA GALLERY - MAZAL ARIE 16, TEL. 03- 5182278

BASMAN-TENENBAUM STUDIO - KIKAR KEDUMIM 7, TEL.03- 6827334

GABRIELY GALLERY - MAZAL DAGIM 12, TEL.03- 6823323

GIA ZILBER STUDIO - MAZAL ARIE 14, TEL. 03- 6819246

HAGAR STUDIO- KIKAR KEDUMIM 1, TEL. 03-6817481

RACHEL GERA GALLERY - MAZAL DAGIM 9, TEL. 03-6829613

DILLON GALLERY - KIKAR KEDUMIM 14, TEL. 03- 6826354

HORACE RICHTER GALLERY- MAZAL ARIE 24, TEL. 03- 6825842

KISHURIM - MAZAL DAGIM 15, TEL. 03- 5184939

THE CARPET GALLERY - MAZAL ARIE 20, TEL. 03- 6833851

ADI GALLERY - SHIMON HABURSEKAI 2, TEL. 03-6833023

ODED HALACHMI GALLERY - MAZAL ARIE 21, TEL. 03-6831379

FRANK MEISLER GALLERY, MAZAL ARIE 25, TEL. 03-6813502

FARKASH GALLERY - MAZAL DAGIM 5, TEL. 03- 6834741

SHOMRONI GALLERY - MAZAL DAGIM 3, TEL.6829332

DANIEL ZAKAI - SHIMON HABURSEKAI 2, TEL. 03-6828789

HINET - KIKAR KEDUMIM 3, TEL. 03-6825999

ILANA GOOR MUSEUM - MAZAL DAGIM 4, TEL. 03-6837676

OLD JAFFA MUSEUM - MIFRATZ SHLOMO 10, TEL.03- 6825375

ARCHEOLOGICAL CENTER - MAZAL DAGIM 7, TEL. 03- 6826243

HANDELMAN STUDIO - MAZAL DAGIM 14, TEL.03- 6834593

ALI BABA - MAZAL DAGIM 1, TEL. 03-6810104

EMANUEL ZAKAI - MAZAL DAGIM 3, TEL.6829792

POTTERS' SHOP - MAZAL KESHET 4, TEL.6824072

RONIT ATTIAS MOSAIC STUDIO - LOUIS PASTEUR 4, TEL.6822555

SHVIRTZ - KIKAR KEDUMIM 6, TEL. 6829336

THE STUDIO IN OLD JAFFA - MAZAL DAGIM 18, TEL.6835992

MICHAEL ARAD'S STUDIO - MAZAL ARIE 20, TEL.055-468351

KESSEF PLUS - KIKAR KEDUMIM 6, TEL. 5182680

 VISUART STUDIO - MAZAL SHOR 7, TEL. 6812819

ZAFRIR STUDIO - NETIV HAMAZALOT 5, TEL.5185864

RESTAURANTS, COFFEE SHOPS & BARS

ABULAFIA,  MIFRATZ SHLOMO 6,  TEL .03- 6814335

ALADIN (FISH),  MIFRATZ SHLOMO 5,   TEL. 03- 6826766

BAR HASIMTA, SHIMON HABURSKAI 3,  TEL .052-983105

BERNARD SHOW,  KIKAR KEDUMIM 10, TEL. 03- 6813898

CORDELIA (FRENCH), THE GLASS ALLEY, TEL.03- 6813783

KABACHUK, KIKAR KEDUMIM 14, TEL.03- 6829018

KIOSK KDUMIM, KIKAR KEDUMIM, TEL. 03-6813783 

MUSCAT, KIKAR KEDUMIM 15, TEL. 03-5181147

NOA, HAZORFIM 14, TEL. 03-5189720

SHABTAI HAYAFE (FISH), HACHALFANIM 7, TEL. 03-6832250

SHIRAT HAYAM (FISH, GLATT KOSHER), MIFRATZ SHLOMO 12, TEL.
03-6813272 

TAJ MAHAL (INDIAN), KIKAR KEDUMIM 4, TEL. 03- 6821002

TOUTOUNE (FRENCH), MAZAL DAGIM 1, TEL.03- 6820693

VIA MARIS (FRENCH), KIKAR KEDUMIM 6, TEL.03- 6828451

YAMIT (DAIRY KOSHER), KIKAR KEDUMIM 16, TEL.03- 6825353