The interior of Basma’s Coffee in Jaffa, a charming place with a collection of finjans and Arabic/Turkish coffee pots. (pic: TripAdvisor)
Today Jaffa, with its historical port and Old City, is best known as the charming, beautiful, older sibling to Tel Aviv. (Jaffa is technically a neighbourhood and part of “Tel Aviv-Jaffa”). Founded in 1909, Tel Aviv is a combination of new and “old-but-not-so old,” and is the economic hub and largest city in Israel. Jaffa, on the other hand, is much older than Tel Aviv, and while also much smaller, contains an incredible amount of history and importance stretching back multiple time periods and civilizations. In fact, Jaffa is the oldest still functioning Port city in the Mediterranean and has one of the oldest harbours in the word. Today, the Jaffa Port (and the Old City of Jaffa located just above the Port) is the heart of the Jaffa neighbourhood itself and is a jewel in the modern Meditteranean metropolis of Tel Aviv-Jaffa.
The Old City of Jaffa is located on the Mediterranean coast of Israel on a hill overlooking the sea and contains a natural port and harbour. These geographical features helped to make it a natural strategic location for human settlement throughout history and, in fact, archaeologists have discovered evidence of settlement in the Tel of Jaffa (an archaeological mound) dating back to pre-historic times. The name Jaffa has several origins and derivations and is mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments. In Hebrew, it is known as Jafo (pronounced “Yafo”) and is derived from the word Yafa, which means beautiful. Some trace the roots of the name to Yefet, (or Japheth) who was one of the three sons of Noah in the Old Testament. Yafo is also mentioned in the Old Testament as the port that wood from the cedar trees of Lebanon would arrive to in order to build the Temple under King Solomon. It is also, quite famously, the scene of the story of Jonah and the whale (or large fish!). The prophet Jonah was told by God to sail to Nineveh in Assyria. Disobeying the instruction, Jonah instead took off on another ship for Tarshish. During a great storm, he was thrown overboard by his angry ship-mates after he disclosed that he disobeyed his God thereby causing the storm. He ended up in a whale’s belly for three days before safely returning to shore. The port where he embarked from was Jaffa! There are some that say the whale also spit him back out on the shores of Jaffa so that he could choose to obey God this time!
Allegedly, the historic home of Simon the Tanner, where Peter lodged while in Jaffa. (Pic: preachersmith.com)
This gem of a city is also the scene of several stories involving the Apostle Peter from the New Testament. It was in Jaffa that Saint Peter had a vision from God which inspired him to preach the Gospel to non-Christians. While in Jaffa, Peter lodged in the home of Simon the Tanner and, according to the Bible, assisted in the miracle resuscitation of Tabitha. Today in the Old City of Jaffa, the St. Peter Franciscan Church towers on the top of the Jaffa tel and is the most visible landmark by far. The original church was built during the Crusader era and updated and rebuilt by Franciscans during the Ottoman period.
In Ancient Greece, Jaffa was known as Joppa, the name used in some of the Biblical accounts as well. It was named Joppa by the Greeks following their conquest of the city during the era of Alexander the Great. They named it thus after the Greek Goddess with the same name. The port and city of Jaffa are also associated with the story in Greek mythology of Andromeda and Perseus. According to the legend, Andromeda, the daughter of Cepheus, King of Aethiopia, and his wife Queen Cassiopeia, was chained to a rock in the sea beneath the cliffs of Joppa. She was chained on the rocks in order to be sacrificed to a sea-monster sent by the sea-god Poseidon. The hero Perseus (the son of Zeus and Danae) fell in love with the beautiful Andromeda, flew by her in his winged sandals and rescued her from the rocks and the sea monster. Perseus used the head of Medusa to turn the sea-monster to stone, and today the large series of rocks that one can see from the Port and cliffs of Jaffa are known as Andromeda’s rocks. These rocks are what form the natural bay harbour of Jaffa.
The Port and Old City have played a central role in many other historical periods as well. Jaffa was a fortified Canaanite city that was attacked and conquered by the army of Egyptian Pharaoh Thutmose III. It was an administrative city under Egyptian rule for more than three centuries, including during the rule of Pharaoh Ramses II. An Egyptian fortress, as well as many Egyptian antiquities, have been excavated and discovered in the Tel of Jaffa. According to Biblical history, Jaffa was also on the border of the land of the Tribes of Israel and Canaan following the conquest of Israel led by Joshua, which came under Israelite control during the reign of King Solomon. It continued to be an important centre during the reign of King Hezekiah and during the Assyrian, Persian, and Hellenistic periods.
The painting Napoleon visiting the plague victims of Jaffa, by Antoine-Jean Gros depicts the aftermath of this battle.
During the Islamic period, Jaffa served as a Port for the city of Ramla, which was a regional capital built by the Islamic caliphates. It also became an important Port city during the Christian Crusader period, serving as a destination for visiting Christian Pilgrims coming from Europe. The area changed hands several times and was the scene of famous battles between the Crusaders and Islamic armies, led by Richard the Lionheart and Saladin.
During the end of the Ottoman era, it became the scene of a famous battle between Napoleon’s forces who were attacking Jaffa from Egypt and the Ottoman forces in the city. Napoleon’s forces defeated the Ottomans and massacred thousands of defeated Turkish soldiers on the shores of Jaffa. After conquering the city, Napoleon left behind tens of thousands of troops to occupy the city and then proceeded north along the coast to attack Acco. In Acco, Napoleon’s army was defeated due to its strong fortification. Meanwhile, troops that Napoleon left behind in Jaffa all died from a plague epidemic caused by poor hygiene in the French headquarters in Ramla.
Today the Jaffa Port and Old City are a cultural attraction that reveals and reflects its storied history, both outwardly and sometimes beneath the surface. They contain a rich mixture of attractions, with a functioning fishing Port, juxtaposed with ancient sites, churches, mosques, synagogues, bustling restaurants, cafes, art galleries, and museums. The Old City of Jaffa has been renovated and somewhat modernized but still contains narrow, stone streets, and winding allies that are full of art galleries as well as old churches and mosques.
The front of the theatre in Jaffa for the Al Saraya Theatre, Arab-Hebrew Theatre. (commons.wikimedia.org)
There are several interesting and influential cultural institutions in the Port today. For example, there are several theatres including the Arab Hebrew theatre and Al-Saraya theatre, which are both located in the old Al-Saraya building in the Old City. The Al-Saraya building is a historic building itself whose story is emblematic of the of the rich history found here. It was originally the location of a Crusader-era fortress. During the Ottoman era, it became a palace for an Ottoman ruler. At a later point, the building was owned and used as a soap factory by the wealthy Arab-Christian Damiani family. Following 1948 the building went on to house the Jaffa Archeology Museum, which is still located in part of the building together with the theatres. The Arab-Hebrew theatre hosts productions and actors who perform in both Arabic and Hebrew and promotes cross-cultural cooperation. Recently there was a cabaret theatre about the life of the famous Egyptian singer, Fareed Al-Atrache. The Al-Saraya theatre is an Arabic language theatre company which hosts productions in Arabic and pays homage to the cultural scene in Jaffa prior to the 1948 war when Jaffa was a centre and home to a rich Arab cultural scene, something which the Al-Saraya theatre is trying to preserve.
A scene from a production put on by the blind-deaf with nalagaat.org.il.
You will also find a very unique theatre company and restaurant that works with performers and employees who are blind or deaf. The theatre is called “Nalaga’at”, which in Hebrew means “please touch” and showcases theatrical performances with blind and deaf actors. The connecting restaurant has a “black-out” theme, where the dining experience is in a pitch-black restaurant, creating the opportunity for the diner to feel what it is like to be blind. The wait staff are all blind and they guide the diners in the process. It is a remarkable experience and shouldn’t be missed!
There is also a very interesting blend of restaurants and cafes; ranging from new and fancy, to old, homey and quaint. One of the unique cafes is called Basma’s Coffee. It was named after the owner’s Grandmother, an Arab-Christian woman whose name was Basma. Many decades ago Basma was famous in Jaffa for bringing larges pots of fresh coffee to the fisherman who worked in the Port. The coffee shop today has delicious coffee and Arabic sweets as well as an impressive collection of old-fashioned finjans and Arabic/Turkish coffee pots.
All in all, Jaffa and its fishing Port and Old City is a charismatic mixture of many contrasting elements. It is a charming tourist attraction with its art galleries, seafood restaurants, cafes and museums. At the same time, it is a gritty fishing Port that still retains its working-class fisherman roots. It is the heart of Jaffa, historically the largest Arab city on the coast of Israel and historic Palestine, and today is a diverse neighbourhood of fast-paced and hip Tel Aviv, with a mixed Jewish and Arab population that lives in harmony. It is part working-class neighbourhood with great character and history, together with new upscale neighbourhoods with some of the most expensive apartment complexes in all of Israel. Add in the many cultural and art centres and it is full of diversity around every corner. With its rich, influential, and mythological history, its unquestioned charm, beauty, and grittiness, the Jaffa Port and Old City is undoubtedly a special gem just waiting to be explored.
