Jaffa

Jaffa street near Kdumim Square and House of Simon the Tanner

Tel Aviv is officially Tel Aviv-Yafo, as the old port of Jaffa was incorporated into Tel Aviv some years ago. But though it shares a border with Tel Aviv, it feels a world away.  Jaffa is the ancient port city of the Mediterranean that for many centuries was the showpiece of the Arab world. There are few natural ports along this area of the Mediterrean, and Jaffa is one of them.  The port has been continuously inhabited for nearly 4,000 years.  It contains mosques and churches, but is primarily Arabic.

Fisherman on the coastline just north of Jaffa

 After having visited the delightful Nachelet Binyamin open-air market (again), and fueling ourselves with street falafels, we made our way to Jaffa along the promenade that hugs the Tel Aviv coast for several miles.  It is arguably one of the most scenic and pleasant spots in the world.  Yesterday was the beginning of February, but the sun and surfers were out.  We headed south at a leisurely pace.  It was early Friday afternoon and it seemed everyone in Tel Aviv was out and about.  In Israel, the work week is Sunday through Thursday, so their Friday is our Saturday, and it was time to unwind.

Betsy at the ampithreatre, with spectacular views of Tel Aviv behind her. 

We reached the famous Clock Tower at the edge of Jaffa, and we immediately felt we had left the modern world.  Chic shops and restaurants fill the streets, interspersed with fishmongers and their bins of pungent local fish.  We stopped for gelato and lemonade (away from the fishmongers), then continued exploring.  Jaffa is mostly pedestrian and each turn seems to bring another turn, and then a breathtaking vista.  We stumbled upon the Alphi auditorium, an open air ampitheatre with spectacular views of downtown Tel Aviv, to remind us we hadn’t entirely left the modern world. Across from it was St. Peter’s church, and just across a bridge lined with Zodiac symbols (for good luck), was another square, with narrow steps down to the old port of Jaffa.

Steven at the Bridge of Wishes.  St. Peter's is behind him. 

The port is still in use by fishermen, but it is also a tourist attraction, lined with outdoor restaurants.  Full from our gelato, we did not stop to eat.  We left just as the sun was setting over the water.   

Tel Aviv - Palmach Museum and Palmach soldier

This gentleman fought in the Israeli War of Independence 70 years ago.
His unit's scrapbook is in front of him. 

Yesterday, Steven and I shook the hand of a hero.  A slight man of ninety, this native Israeli, a Sabra, had been a member of the strike force of the Hagana, the forerunner to the IDF.  He was part of an elite group, the Palmach, that defended Israel during the Israeli War of Independence that began in 1947.

We talked to this Palmach fighter by great good luck and by our own mistake.  We had no reservations for the ninety minute presentation given by the Palmach Museum, but the IDF soldiers at the front desk said we could go back to the photo gallery and look around.  This is where we encountered our nonogenerian, in a room empty of people but full of large scrapbooks. He told us his story as he flipped through the large scrapbook that each unit of the Hagana was instructed to compile.

His unit was called the Brooklyns, not because its members were from Brooklyn, but because they all went to the same café by that name in Tel Aviv.  Members included both men and women.  They had no uniforms; they resembled partisans and street fighters. They were scrappy and brave.

At the age of 20, on May 14, 1948, he was with the Brooklyns on the Lebanese border, anticipating trouble.  The Arab nations had already engaged the Israelis, but all-out war was expected to erupt that day, as David Ben Gurion declared the independence of the state of Israel.  The Palmach fighters that day had no cannons and no air cover.  They were fighting with imported guns and “tanks” created by welding steel plates to truck frames.  As the bullets flew from Lebanon, he wasn’t sure to be glad or mad that Ben Gurion was reading Israel’s Declaration of Independence.  One of those bullets struck him in the arm, and he subsequently spent two years in hospitals recovering.  It was his first and last day of battle.  Many of his fellow soldiers that survived the battle joined kibbutzim after the war. 

After recovering, he was in the mechanical field until retiring.  Now he tells his extraordinary story three days a week at the Palmach Museum.  It was an honor and a privilege to meet him.

Palmach Museum Photo Gallery

         

Tel Aviv - Diamond Exchange

Israel's Diamond Exchange Center, one of the earliest skyscrapers built in Israel.

Tel Aviv boasts the largest diamond exchange in the world.  While diamonds are not mined in Israel, they are traded and cut here.  I was part of a special tour that was part of Steven's scientific conference at Bar Ilan University.  As a spouse of a speaker at the conference, I got to tag along.  Entering the exchange was like entering a bank vault at the airport.  They took our identifications (my passport) and kept them for the duration of the tour.  An Israeli guard who looks like a football player inspected my bags.  I walked through a metal detector.  Our guide joked it was more secure than the Mossad.  Why all this security?  Because there are millions of dollars of diamonds in the exchange, which spans four buildings.

The buildings are all connected and form a miniature city.  Everything you could want, including a doctor, store, restaurants and a synagogue, are within the exchange.  Once you enter, you don't need to leave until the end of the day.  Does that seem a little claustrophobic?  Well, the main trading floor is at least light filled, with floor-to-ceiling windows.  Within are rows of sturdy desks and wooden chairs.  Here diamonds are weighed and traded.  Million dollar transactions are concluded with just the shake of a hand.  If you welch on your deal, your face is plastered on the "wall of shame" and within minutes word goes out to all the diamond exchanges,  and no one will do business with you.  Only members of the exchange can do business here.  This is also a man's business.  Of the approximately 2,000 members only a few hundred are women.

The Israelis have developed sophisticated software and machines that x-ray each uncut diamond, and then model the best cut for each diamond.  Once marked, the diamond is cut by machine. Nothing is cut by hand anymore.  The latest cutting technology now uses water.

After we retrieved our passports and left the building, we were shown to the Caprice showroom. A delightful Chinese lady, who spoke German, Hebrew and English, showed us several large diamonds, explaining cut and clarity and karets. These gorgeous diamonds were $10,000 to $36,000 each!  Even substracting their discount and the refund of the VAT tax, we decided to pass.  While these diamonds are a bargain compared to Tiffany's, they were a tad above our price point. 
 

Bethlehem

Bethlehem - ancient city, modern cars. 

Yesterday I went to Bethlelem in the West Bank, about 10 km south of Jerusalem.  We had just finished our tour of Jerusalem. and Bethlehem was the next stop.  But Bethlehem is now under Palestinian control, and you are required to pass through a check point to enter the town.  Just after we crossed the border, Hezi, our guide, parked the mini-bus and everyone onboard switched over to two local minivans, driven by local drivers.  As my seatmate Hector said, it felt like we were in a spy movie.  I admit I was nervous, though tour groups visit all the time without incident.     

As we drove through the narrow winding streets of Bethlehem, I thought to myself that it looked a lot like Jerusalem, with its ubiquitous golden limestone.   It looked clean and prosperous.  (Frankly, I didn't know what to expect.  Rubble perhaps? Hezi said this city is well maintained, in consideration of the tourists.)  Unlike Jerusalem, where Jerusalem stone is the mandated building material, Bethlehem uses the stone because it is the most accessible and cheapest building material.

Christmas decorations were still up, even though it was late January, including a massive (fake) tree that seemed to rival the one at Rockefeller Center in size.  Ironically, and very sadly, the population of Christians in Bethlehem is down to 18-20% of the entire population of about 25,000.  I say sadly, because most Christians have left due to persecution.  They once made up 98% of the population.  Ironically, Bethlehem's main industry is tourism.  It makes no economic sense to me to drive out the Christian population, and certainly no moral sense.  Hezi, our tour guide, says it is important for foreigners to visit Bethlehem to support the remaining Christians.

Aramaic alphabet.  Source: https://www.omniglot.com/writing/aramaic.htm

Our tour guide in Bethlehem, Abdul, was one of those Christians.  Abdul was born in Bethlehem and is an Aramaic Christian.  Aramaic was the language of Jesus, one of the ancient Canaanite languages spoken in Judea, along with Hebrew and Greek.  Abdul told me that only about 5,000 people still speak this language, and it is a dying language.  The Christian services he attends are conducted in both Arabic and Aramaic, so all attendees can understand the services. Abdul is also multilingual.  In addition to his native tongue of Aramaic, he also speaks Hebrew, Arabic, English and German.  That last language came in handy, as half of our tour group was German, so Abdul spoke first in English, then repeated himself in German.

See that small door in the center?  That's the Door of Humility.

Abdul met us outside the sacred Church of Nativity.  This is the oldest church in continuous use in the world.  The church rests on the spot identified around 160 A.D. as Christ's birthplace, and the Roman emperor Constantine ordered a church built on the site in 326.  As we were soon to see, apart from the mosaic floor and some of the limestone column, the original church has been continously transformed over the centuries. 

We entered the church through the "Door of Humility."  Even I had to stoop, the entrance was so small.  Originally shortened to prevent men on horseback from ransacking the church, the size of the entrance has taken on a spiritual meaning.

Abdul, our guide, points to the mosaic floors of the original 4th Century church.
They sit under the current floor, their existence only discovered after an earthquake. 

Once inside, we looked up to a wooden ceiling that is 900 years old, and looked down through trap doors at the original mosaic flooring from the 4th Century, over 1,600 years old.  Conservators from Italy sat on scaffolding restoring painting on limestone columns dating from the Crusader period.
At the end of the nave, monks sang hymns.

An Italian conservator is restoring the 12th Century painting on the column

Greek Orthodox section of the church.  At the podium a monk was singing. 

Abdul said we were in luck that day, because the church was relatively quiet, and we would be able to visit the Grotto of the Nativity, the focal point of the church. To do so, you descend a narrow staircase to what looks like an ornately decorated fireplace  (but this one has a monk seated next to it), and on the floor of the fireplace is a large silver star.  Abdul told us each point of the star represents the ancestors of Jesus, beginning with Abraham.  A line of devout Christians kneeled at the star, which marks the exact location of Christ's birth, and kissed it, while around  them swirled the perfume of incense.

The silver star marks the location of Christ's birth

We exited throught the cloister of St. Catherine's Church,  a peaceful courtyard filled with orange trees.  It was here that Abdul sang the Lord's Prayer in Aramaic for us, a unique and special moment in our harried tour. 
 

Tel Aviv - Nakhalat Binyamin craft market

Vendors at the Nachalat Benyamin craft fair.

On Tuesdays and Fridays, Nakhalat Binyamin Street, part of the old Yemenite quarter, comes alive with craft vendors.  I love street fairs, so I couldn't resist a visit. Unlike the Bauhaus and socialist concrete archectiture that lines other streets in Tel Aviv, the buildings on this street are a mix of Classical, Moorish and Art Nouveau in design, making for a pretty venue.

Orna Barel is wrapping my little dishes for transport back home.
I wanted to buy everything at the table. 

Orna Barel sells ceramics that called out to me.  I had to have some of her little pomegranate-shaped dishes. I'll use them as place to set tea bags or I will just admire them on my kitchen counter. 100 NIS for three dishes works out to less than $10 each. A great price for handmade ceramics.  She sells on Etsy here, if you'd like to see more designs.

The blue bird necklace I purchased from Beth Shoham

I also treated myself to a necklace by Beth Shoham, who paints with glass powders on glass, and often adds accents in real gold and silver.  The glass is fired in a kiln, then surrounded with a sterling silver frame.  I chose a delicate blue bird design.  Beth has been selling at the market for six years, and it is her full time job.