Thousands of years of history come together in Jaffa, one of the world's oldest cities and the birthplace of Tel Aviv.
A center of tourism, food and fun, with an exotic Levantine ambience.
Driving to Jaffa is like going through a time tunnel skyscrapers soar on the left, while ahead lays a city with thousands of years behind it.
The main port of the ancient land of Israel, and one of the first ports in the world, Jaffa was a center of commerce and culture, agriculture and tourism, the destination of shipping lines from Alexandria and Beirut.
From the Clock Tower Square, convoys of wagons and camels fanned out to all parts of the land, and pilgrims made their way on foot to the holy city of Jerusalem.
The clock tower built by the Turkish Sultan Abd al-Hamid the II in 1906, when the land was under Ottoman rule, has recently undergone a facelift, as has the square surrounding it.
In the alley next to the Mahmuddiyah mosque, men are absorbed in endless games of backgammon, or shesh-besh, to use the local parlance.
Coffeehouses offering narghiles to smoke along with tiny cups of strong black Turkish coffee create an authentic Levantine atmosphere.
The Tel Aviv-Jaffa Tourism Association offers free guided walking tours of Jaffa every Wednesday in English. Meeting point: the Clock Tower on Yefet Street, at 9:30 a.m. No need for advance booking just come and enjoy!