Jaffa

This morning after Darrel went downstairs to work out and we had breakfast (free with our room) we walked about 3 miles to the Bezalel open-air market and to Jaffa. Bezalel market reminded me of the mercado (market) in Mexico and the open market days in the Netherlands. Sort of a very crowded flea market/farmers market. They set them up only one or two days a week and you go there to get most of your fresh produce and fresh baked breads. They also have a variety of things like hats, t-shirts, souvenirs, etc. It was fun to listen to them do their sells bit in Hebrew. They would compete with each other and do ‘yells’ together; you could tell they were having fun while working. It was also interesting to watch the people haggle for the prices.
We then walked over to Jaffa. According to historians, Jaffa was named after Noah’s son, Japheth, who built it after the flood. In Hebrew it drives from the Hebrew word ‘yofi’ which means beauty. Archaeological discoveries and ancient documents support that it existed as a port city some 4,000 years ago, serving Egyptian and Phoenician sailors in their sea voyages. Historians believe that Jaffa is the only port in the world which can boast uninterrupted inhabitation throughout it’s entire existence The earliest known written reference to Jaffa is found in inscriptions on the wall of the temple of Karnak at Thebes. In it, Thutmose II, who ruled from 1490 to 1436 B.C., boasts of capturing a number of cities of Israel, including Jaffa. It is told of how Thutmose’s minister of war went to Jaffa and took with him 200 human sized jars; in them they hid soldiers and slaves with ropes. He told the governor of Jaffa that he had run away from Thutmose and brought all these riches with him in the jars, so they brought them into the city. Once inside the minister killed the governor and all the soldiers came out of the jars and they took the city. Through Bible History, the city was in turn taken by the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks and Romans in which it was included in the kingdom of Herod The Great. The Bible mentions Jaffa several times. Although in some of it’s translations it is called Jaffa, Joppa, Japho, Jaffe, or Yafo.
The biblical account mentions that the cedars from Lebanon for the construction of King Solomon’s Temple came in via Jaffa’s shore (2 Chronicles 2:11,16). Remember Jonah running from God’s calling, he took a boat out of the Jaffa port and soon was swallowed by the big fish! Simon the Tanner lived in Jaffa, and it was here that the Apostle Peter performed a miracle of raising Tabitha from the dead (Acts 9:36-43) In Jaffa Peter was divinely led to 'think out of the box.' The story in Acts 10:5-23, finds Peter on the rooftop of the House of Simon the Tanner, where he had his famous vision (Acts 10:12-13), that led him to preach the Gospel to the gentiles at Caesarea.
After the Israelites entered the Promised land under Joshua, the tribe of Dan received Jaffa but it was later lost to the Philistines. King David re-took Jaffa in his time, and when Solomon succeeded his father as king, he developed it into Israel's major seaport.

After learning about Jaffa and walking through the old city we enjoyed some beautiful views of the beach and the port. We watched surfers, swimmers and fishermen. We then went back to the hotel, cooled off and had a little rest. We then went for a walk in Tel Aviv to find a falafel stand, but it was shabat and we did not make it there before it closed down. On the way back to the hotel we did find an Italian restaurant and had some of the best alfredo we have ever had! Back to the hotel to talk to the kids, Darrel did a little work and we went to bed. My clock is still a little off so I slept until 3 am and then could not go back to sleep. Shabat Shalom!