Israel Part Two: Jaffa

In Israel, Google employees have Friday and Saturday off for the Muslim and Jewish sabbaths, while Sunday is part of the work week.  This may be how the rest of the country works, but I can't confirm that.  Therefore, Darren had a meeting up in Haifa beginning in the afternoon on Sunday.  

So we used the morning to go explore the old port of Jaffa.  The Hebrew name for Jaffa is Yafo (which is why when you look at a map, sometimes it says Tel Aviv-Yafo).  Jaffa has been around since very ancient times, but most of it has been absorbed by the new city of Tel Aviv.  The old city center of Jaffa still remains for visitors to see.  Jaffa was known in Biblical times as either Japho or Joppa (many different transliterations of the name from different languages) and was an important harbor during Solomon's reign (see 2 Chr. 2:16) and is also mentioned as the place where Peter performed a miracle (see Acts 9:36-43).

There are only one or two historical sites to see in Jaffa, instead it is more about the scenery and the atmosphere.  The core of the old town has become more an arts, crafts, and dining scene.  During our time there, we just walked around, explored and took lots of pictures.

One of the art shops in the area

Great views of the Mediterranean Sea from Jaffa

There are actually a lot of feral cats in Israel.  Everywhere we went we saw lots of cats roaming around.  Some looked gross and mangy, but actually most of them looked well-fed.  It was cool to see cats on the prowl instead of the usual domestic cat that is fat and just lays around waiting to be fed (Gracie).  It was hard not to go up and pet them, but I realized that they were probably full of diseases and maybe not very nice.

Feral cats fighting for territory

Another great shot by Darren of downtown Tel Aviv from Jaffa

We passed by the Monastery of St. Peter, which was dedicated in 1891.  It stands on the site that was formerly occupied by a Crusader citadel.  The monastery commemorates the miracle Peter performed of raising Tabitha from the dead as I mentioned above.  We did not go inside because it was Sunday and they were having a service.

Monastery of St. Peter

At the end of the 18th century, Napoleon actually seized control of the coastal towns in the area, including Jaffa.  This is my only guess as to why this statue of a French soldier and a French cafe called Napoleon exist in Jaffa.

Classic Robison way of taking pictures

We really enjoyed Jaffa, maybe even more than Tel Aviv.  It had a quaint, old feeling, but still seemed to have modern housing hidden behind old-looking stones. Tel Aviv has some nice buildings and streets, but has as many dilapidated and abandoned buildings as well.  And even in the busy, tourist section of downtown.  

After our tour of Jaffa and bit of walking around in Tel Aviv, Darren went to his meeting, while I went back to the hotel.  It then proceeded to rain nonstop for the rest of the day, so I just stayed in the hotel and planned out our Jerusalem itinerary for the next two days.  One hundred pages of our guidebook was just devoted to Jerusalem!  So there was a lot to read up on.  Darren didn't return from his meeting until very late, so we went in search of any place that was still serving food and came upon a little restaurant that served breakfast foods from around the world.  I had a "Scandinavian" breakfast that was a mix of melted cheese, spinach, sunflower seeds, and poached eggs (maybe other things?) that was mixed together and served almost like a spread, which I put on the toasted brioche it came with.  It was fantastic!

Next up are two posts about our time in Jerusalem!