This 4,000 year old port city has a Money Changers’ Alley, where they say that sailors from all over the world who arrived at the port changed their money to pay for prostitutes. A legend says Napoleon came to conquer the city in 1799, but sent a messenger carrying a white flag to ask the people to surrender. The residents didn’t know what a white flag meant. So they cut off the man’s head and hoisted it on the city wall. So, Napoleon attacked and conquered! Many Biblical events also took place here, like -- just off this Mediterranean coast is where Jonah had his episode with the 'whale'.


TEL AVIV
Israel's 2nd largest city of over 430,000 people is one of the world's most vibrant and modern . It's the Silicon Valley of the Middle East, known as the Silicon Wadi. It boasts amazing sandy Mediterranean beaches, UNESCO recognized architecture, a 1st class cultural scene, and incredible food! But, it's not my center of interest! Until about 100 years ago Tel Aviv was nothing more than rolling sand dunes! There's a 4,000 year old port city a short walk away. That's where I'm headed.

 OLD JAFFA PORT
You could say the bustling financial and technology center of Israel, Tel Aviv, is Jaffa's offspring. It grew out of the 4,000 year old city a hundred years ago. But, as Tel Aviv continued to grow, Jaffa declined. By the 1940’s Tel Aviv was so much larger than Jaffa that eventually the two converged and now Jaffa is a neighborhood of Tel Aviv!


Because Jaffa was a great port for trade, over 22 times it was captured by the Egyptians, Phoenicians, Babylonians, Philistines, Assyrians, Maccabeans, Seleucids, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Crusaders, Mongols, Mamluks, Ottomans, French, British and by Zionist militias just before the state of Israel was declared in 1948 .


The center of old Jaffa, once called “Jerusalem by the Sea”, is identified by The Clock Square. The clock tower with stained glass windows is a local landmark and was built in 1906. The fountain on Russian Street was where travellers and camel caravans stopped to quench their thirst!


The narrow passageways of old Jaffa have zodiac names written on ceramic tiles. Old sandstone houses with blue shuttered windows, window boxes overflowing with bright flowers and old wooden doors covered with vines, are now art galleries occupied by painters, sculptors, potters and jewellers.There are small theaters, restaurants, fresh fish stalls, and an old flea market! 


BIBLICAL JAFFA
Jaffa, called “Joppa” in the Bible, is one of the world's oldest ports, founded by Japheth, the son of Noah . Jaffa has been prominent in history for thousands of years. Important enough to attract conquerers like Napoleon, Alexander the Great, and Richard the Lionheart.


The city is mentioned in many written records including the Old and New Testaments and Greek mythology. It was off the coast of Jaffa, that Jonah was swallowed by the whale (the Bible says big fish). Cedars from Lebanon to build King Solomon’s Temple were brought through this port. The house of Simon the Tanner, where Peter raised Tabitha from the dead and had a vision that convinced him to preach Christianity to the gentiles and pagans, is located here.

SCRIPTURE:
Timber from Lebanon to be sent to Joppa: 2 Chronicles 2:16; Ezra 3:7

Jonah sails from Joppa: Jonah 1:3Jonah swallowed by fish: Jonah 1:17

Peter raises Tabitha from the dead: Acts 9:36-43Peter’s vision in Joppa: Acts 10:5-16


From Tel Aviv I fly out of Israel. Many people told me before I went that this part of the world was "too dangerous". After I returned people have asked me if I was afraid while there.

 
NEXT: "What I Feared Most In The Middle East"