Tour of the Old City

• The walk begins from the Jaffa Clock Tower (A). Proceed on Yefet Street in the direction away from the traffic circle. Take the first right onto Ruslan Street.

 

This clock tower was erected in 1903, in the Ottoman period. It was financed by the different communities in Jaffa to mark Sultan Abdul Hamid II’s silver jubilee. It was one of about 100 clock towers erected throughout the Ottoman Empire and one of eight built in Israel. Each of the tower’s 4 clocks faces in a different direction. The clocktower provided a focus for the development and modernization of the center of Jaffa. In the Ottoman period, this square was the administrative center for the city.  The hotel, for example, was once a prison. This area is now a popular venue for cultural events and performances.

 

• Just after turning onto Russlan St., you will notice that a section of the paving of the road is in a different color than the rest of the road and there is a marble structure on its right side. This was where the main fortified Jerusalem Gate of the Ottoman city was located. It was removed to make way for the road. The marble structure is the Suleiman Fountain or Sabil Suleiman (B) (without any of its taps).

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This fountain was part of the broader water infrastructure program initiated and expanded under Governor Muhammad Abu Nabbut in the early 19th century, and was named after Suleiman the Magnificent, who reigned in the 16th century. It was placed outside the gate as a welcoming gesture for visitors and for them to refresh themselves with fresh water before entering the city.

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• Just after the Jaffa Great Mosque take the first alley on the right side of the road to a covered fountain, the Sabil Abu Nabut or Abu Nabat Fountain ©. As distinct from the Suleiman Fountain, this fountain was located within the city.

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This fountain was also built by Muhammad Abu Nabu, the Ottoman governor of the town. The fountain has typical Ottoman architecture with a central dome supported by pillars. The fountain was a big deal when it was built since it provided clean running water in comfortable shaded conditions at a time when access to clean water was otherwise limited.

 

The Mahmoudiya Mosque was also built by Muhammad Abu Nabbut and is the largest and most important mosque in Jaffa, forming one of the key architectural anchors of the Old City. Earlier foundations existed (18th century), but Abu Nabbut’s early 19th-century rebuilding is what gave it its present monumental character. The Mahmoudiya Mosque defines the entire spatial logic of central Old Jaffa, with the Clock Tower Square just in front of it, and the Ottoman government complex (Saraya / police-jail nearby.

 

• Continue ahead from the fountain by the left fork of the paved road towards the sea. Then turn left on the coastal road Aliya HaShniya. You will pass a number of religious buildings on your left that catered for visitors/pilgrims and sailors of different faiths who were travelling by sea. First is the small Sea Mosque for those of the Muslim faith. It is quite old, at least as old as the 17th century. Some buildings after this, just before the road turns into a walkway, is the ancient Armenian Convent of St. Nicholas (D). It has two crosses over its entrance, one above the other. This church reminds us that the Armenian Church was the first Christian church in this country and that Armenia became Christian even before the Roman Empire.

 

This convent has connections to Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon invaded Egypt In 1798 with the intention of creating a French empire in the Middle East. However, his fleet that was anchored in Aboukir Bay was destroyed by the British at the Battle of the Nile when Admiral Nelson launched a surprise attack. Napoleon then decided to advance northwards and he captured Jaffa in 1799 after only a brief resistance. However, a plague developed among his soldiers and was spreading among his army. He ordered his military doctors to euthanize his soldiers who were sick or recovering in this convent. The numbers he killed, in what is called the Jaffa Massacre, could have been anywhere between several dozen to several hundred. He also killed many of the town’s inhabitants and thousands of imprisoned Muslim soldiers. Napoleon’s prime objective was to capture Acre (Acco), as this controlled the way to Syria. However, his siege of the city was unsuccessful. Failing to achieve any of his objectives he withdrew to Egypt and then retreated back to France in 1801.

 

• By the harbor the coastal road turns into a pedestrian walkway with cafes. You can also take the walkway into the middle of the port.

 

Jaffa was the main port into Israel until Roman times when a new port was built in Caesarea, but this was not a particularly safe port. A natural sandstone reef creates a natural breakwater. However, the port was unable to handle large steamships and they needed to dock at sea. Their passengers and cargo were brought to shore by shallower boats. You will notice rocks projecting from the sea at the entrance to the port. Not surprisingly, legends developed around these rocks, or Andromeda’s Rock (E) as they are called. But why this name?

 

A Greek legend tells us that Cepheus the king of Jaffa had a beautiful daughter called Andromeda. His wife boasted that her daughter was even more beautiful than the mermaids. This annoyed the mermaids who appealed to Poseidon, the god of the sea. He punished the humans by sending a deluge of water and a sea monster to destroy Jaffa and the lands of the Philistines. After consulting with an oracle, Cepheus was persuaded to sacrifice his daughter to appease Poseidon’s wrath and Andromeda was tied to the rocks by the port of Jaffa and left to die. However, Perseus, the son of Zeus, chief of the gods, was passing by and fell in love with Andromeda. He was promised the king’s daughter in marriage if he rescued her. He also chopped off the head of the monster, the pieces of which became the sea rocks of Jaffa. Now you know.

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• Opposite the first concrete walkway of the port built on rocks and projecting into the harbor, on the other side of the road, is a stairway above which is the sign “Welcome to Old Jaffa.” Climb up these stairs to the Old City of Jaffa.

 

From the mid-19th century to World War I, subsidiary consulates operated in the Christian Quarter above the port. These were part of the efforts of the Great Powers to obtain influence in the Ottoman Empire, which was perceived as an ailing empire.

 

• The short stairway turns to the left at a T-junction. At the next fork turn to the right continuing up the stairway.

 

• You will now come to a T-junction. In the alley on your right down the stairs, you will see the former House of Simon the Tanner (F). Do not go down this alleyway other than to examine this building. More about the apostle Peter and this house later. Return to the T-junction and go up the stairway on the left.

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• By the Ahava store turn a sharp left and go up either of the stairways. At the top of the stairway on the left is a very nice viewpoint over the harbor signposted “View of the Port and Andromeda’s Rock.” Take the path within this lookout as indicated. Your view will be dependent a bit on the clarity of the plexiglass.

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• Now go back towards the Ahava Store and towards the bottom of the stairway cross over the paved road towards a building with the signs “Yemenite Art by Ben Zion” and “Museum” by a large street picture of a teapot.  You are welcome to enter this workshop and watch for free a short movie on the history of Yemenite filigree jewelry, which, by coincidence, they also sell. Between the picture and the museum are well-kept restrooms.

 

You will have the opportunity to see many galleries and workshops on this tour. It was a deliberate policy of the municipality to provide these old buildings at cheap prices to artists provided they committed to keeping their workshops in the buildings they bought.

 

• Turn to your right as you face the Yemenite Museum and go past the covered benches and then turn to the left. At the end of this alley go up the short stairway, turn right under the long archway. This brings you to Mazal Dagim St. Turn left at the T-junction. (Alternatively, if this sounds too complicated, just go down the hill a bit and take the stairs on your left onto Mazal Dagim St. The street sign has pictures of fish).

 

Opposite you on your right is the First Jewish Hostel in Jaffa. It opened in 1740 and included a synagogue and mikvah. The synagogue reopened in 1948 for Libyan Jews and is still functional.

 

Next, you will come to the Ilana Goor Museum at 4 Mazal Dagim St. Ilana Goor is an artist and designer who transformed the first Jewish inn for pilgrims built in the 18th century into a museum for the display of her own work and other well-known artists, including paintings, sculptures, video art, tribal art, antiques and drawings. Some of the artists displayed are international. It is difficult to nail down any description of this art other than eclectic and unexpected. The views from the roofs of the building are phenomenal. The museum is open from Sunday to Thursday from 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 10.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. There is an admission charge. Guided tours are offered.

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• Continue up Mazal Dagim St. to the T-junction. Before turning left at the T-junction towards Ramesses Second Gate Garden turn right on Simtar Mazal Gedi and then left onto Mazal Arie St. Just beyond the arch is the Floating Orange Tree (G).

 

This Floating or Suspended Orange Tree in an earthenware container was created in 1993 by the Israeli sculptor Ran Morin and has become a Jaffa icon. It is a real Jaffa orange tree suspended one foot above the ground by metal cables that blooms and produces fruit. It has a discrete drip system. Like many works of art, it is possible to see depths of meaning within it. Those suggested include that all of us are like children, confined in our shells and moving further and further from nature and our own backgrounds. It could symbolize the Jewish people formerly uprooted from their land but continuing to bear fruit. It could also be an ode to the Jaffa orange that participated in the rebirth of Israel. Other interpretations are welcome!

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Some history. The orange most closely associated with Jaffa was the Shamouti orange, a variety that emerged in the nineteenth century. It was prized for its thick peel, relatively few seeds, and ability to withstand long sea voyages without spoiling. These qualities made it ideal for export to European markets at a time when improved steamship transportation was transforming international trade. The importance of vitamin C was also then appreciated.

 

The growth of the orange industry was closely tied to the development of Jaffa as the principal port of the country. Arab landowners and farmers around Jaffa established extensive citrus groves, and by the late nineteenth century citrus exports had become one of the region's most important industries. Jewish agricultural settlements later joined the industry, and by the British Mandate period oranges had become a major source of income for both Arab and Jewish communities.

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The decline of the Jaffa orange industry was caused by a combination of political, economic, and environmental factors including the Arab Revolt (1936–1939) which disrupted cultivation, transportation, and exports, World War II reduced civilian shipping and interrupted trade with Europe, the principal destination for Jaffa oranges and the 1948 Arab-Israeli War was the most significant blow. Many Arab citrus growers left or were displaced, groves were abandoned, ownership changed, and established export networks collapsed. Increased international competition after the war, especially from citrus producers in Spain, Morocco, South Africa, Florida, and elsewhere, reduced the unique advantage once enjoyed by Jaffa oranges, and changing consumer preferences favored easier-to-peel and seedless varieties, while the traditional Shamouti orange became less competitive.

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• Return to the T-junction, make your way on the tiled and then asphalt-covered road via the right fork to the Jaffa tel and Ramses II City Gate (H). During the time of Ramses II, this triumphal gate was situated at the entrance to the tel. The tel is now higher than it was then because of the accumulation over the centuries of the debris of destroyed and decayed buildings.

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Like much of archeology in this city, this finding needs to be thought of as part of a broad picture. It was exposed in the 1960s after the area had become derelict. The original is in a museum. The lintel was not part of the original arch. 

 

Egyptian rule in Canaan began at the time of Thutmose III in the mid-15th century and continued into the late 12th century BCE — about a 300-year period. This gate was part of a massive fortress erected here. Hieroglyphics on its pillars tell us the gate was built by Ramses II. As for other invading forces, Jaffa was an important city for the Egyptians because of its location, topography and port. The gate and fortress were destroyed in the mid-12th century BCE, although it is not clear by whom. It could have been the Canaanites or the Philistines who came from the sea in the 12th century BCE and settled in the cities of Ashkelon, Ashdod, Ekron, Gath and Gaza on the coastal plain.

 

Rameses II is often considered by archeologists to be the Pharaoh of the Exodus, although based on the chronology provided by the Bible and archeological evidence many dispute this and place the Israelite conquest of Canaan almost 200 years earlier. He ruled from 1279 to 1213 BCE based on the low chronology system of dating and 1304 to 1237 BCE based on the high chronology. If an alternative dating is correct, this would mean the Israelites were already in the country for much of the time that the Egyptians occupied Jaffa. However, living in the mountain range they may have had limited contact with them. However, the Merneptah Stele written by the son of Ramses II does mention that “Israel is laid waste. Its seed is not.” In that no such Egyptian attack is mentioned in the Bible, its impact may have been more limited than this statement implies.  

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• Continue to the left of the fork on this tiled path. Then take the short stairway on the right up to Gan HaPisgah (I). There is an incredible view of the Tel Aviv coastline from this section of the park.

 

In this part of the park is a sizeable stone sculpture by the sculptor Daniel Kafri from Jerusalem that he created between 1973 to 1975. It represents the gateway to the Land of Israel and expresses the promise of the land to the Jewish forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The top is the capture of Jericho. With the Hebrew facing you, on the left is the binding and non-sacrifice of Isaac and on the right Jacob’s dream.

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• Continue to the left of the fork on this tiled path at the top of the stairway and this will lead you down by another stairway onto Segev St in front of St Peter’s Church. On the way down, you are welcome to read the sign about the properties of the bridge you pass.

 

St. Peter’s Church (J) was originally built by the Franciscans in 1654, although the current structure was built between 1888 and 1894 and renovated in 1903. Four panels within the church depict episodes from the life of St. Peter. The pulpit is carved in the shape of a tree. The church also contains 13th century remnants of the citadel previously in this location. Also, two rooms said to be slept in by Napoleon in 1799 while on his Middle East campaign.

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The cross on the roof of the church sticks out of a rock. The rock is said to have been brought from Banias (Caesarea Philippi) at the foot of Mount Hermon. According to Christian tradition, this commemorates the place where Jesus said to Peter: "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church" (Matthew 16:18).

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It is noteworthy that the entrance to the church faces towards the east, while the altar faces to the west. This is unusual. The church is pointing from Jerusalem and towards Rome and making the point that Jaffa has been the gateway for gentiles adopting Christianity.