Thursday, March 01, 2012

Jaffa, Israel-Day 1

Dallas and I were recently able to travel to ISRAEL to visit our dear friends, Stewart and Elizabeth and to see The Promised Land up close and personal! The first day we were there, Elizabeth took us to the ancient city, Jaffa Port, which is only 20 minutes from their home in Tel Aviv! Jaffa is filled with biblical history! This ancient town is where Jonah "ran away from God" from! In it's prime, Jaffa would have been a pretty busy port town. This town was one of my favs! It also is the city where Peter lived for probably a couple of years! He stayed with Simon the Tanner when he was there, and we were able to see the home that may have been Simon's house!

Dallas and I stopped for a quick shot by the Mediterranean Sea. You can see Jaffa in the background.
Jaffa had this neat clock tower along the main road.


We went in this neat store with all sorts of unique culinary treats and spices, wines from Israel and pottery! Below are a few of the wines they sold. Passion fruit, Pomegranate and Kiwi wines are a few that they had to offer!


Below is the roof of the store I mentioned above! This roof was amazing! The building was built during the Ottoman Empire, and this store, as I was told by the owner, was the stable for the police station!


In Israel, you have your typical Jewish towns, your typical Arabic towns, and then your typical Palestinian territories. More on that to come, but Jaffa is your typical Arab town, complete with this gorgeous "prayer tower."


Old Jaffa Port's square! It was so beautiful...so Mediterranean!

I'm a sucker for doors and windows. This quaint town had doors and windows a'plenty! And, nestled within these ancient buildings were artsy stores and boutiques that one could peruse for days on end. This town is perfect for a lazy afternoon stroll, and afterward, you can go grab a fresh Pomegranate juice from the little cafe in the town square.


Views like this one were around every corner in Jaffa...


Below is a picture of Simon the Tanner's house.


Jaffa's whale fountain is so perfect! It's like a little bow atop a perfectly wrapped present!



In case I haven't quite convinced you to visit Jaffa...have a look at their hanging tree!


Mosaic tile abounds in Israeli artwork!


Doors and windows...oh my!


The Catholic church in Old Jaffa City...so gorgeous!


The actual port in Jaffa.

Our beautiful, sunshiny day in Jaffa was just perfect! The friendly people, salty sea air, and quaint, small town atmosphere was a perfect introduction as to what was to come in the time ahead!

1 comment:

Michelle said...

Wow! This was amazing. I'm so out of touch. I had no idea that you all had gone to Israel!!!! The views are breathtaking. Looking forward to reading the rest of the posts and 'touring' Israel with you all. Thanks for sharing!