Tel Aviv – Jaffa City tour.
Tel Aviv - Jaffa City tour.
Tel Aviv - Jaffa City Tour
From old to new, here is a helpful guide as to how to visit Jaffa and Tel Aviv in one
day.
The tour starts at Jaffa, the ancient port city through which thousands of pilgrims
have made their way to Jerusalem over the last thousands of years. In the second
part of the tour we will discover the modern city of Tel Aviv standing for just over a
century.
Table of Contents
Old Jaffa City Tour
We begin our visit at the Jaffa clock tower, one of the seven clocks built to
commemorate the 50 years of reign of the Ottoman sultan Abdul hamid 2 at the turn
of the 20th century. We then pass in front of the largest mosque in Jaffa, the
Mahmoudiya mosque with its beautiful pink and white sabil wall.
As we go up the street; a panoramic view of Tel Aviv’s skyscrapers and beaches is
revealed to us. After taking a few pictures we enter the St Peter’s church located in
the city where St Peter, the first pope, raised Tabitha from the dead.
From there we enter the narrow cobbled streets of the old Jaffa. We wander through
the pedestrian streets enjoying the small shops, museums and street art until
reaching the port of Jaffa already mentioned in the bible.
From there we make our way back to the clock tower to enjoy a pastry at the
Abulafia bakery and scroll through the Jaffa flea market where you can find lots of
scraps as well as more bohemian styled items. Here you can try traditionals meals
such as hummus, falafel or shakshuka.
Qasr al-yahud, the castle of the jews located on the Jordan river is the site of baptism of
Jesus.
Jericho, and the mount of temptation monastery.
St George Monastery, carved in the Judean desert stones, is a beautiful sight even from
afar. The first monks isolated themselves here already in the 5th century.
Tel Aviv City Tour
We are now walking in the direction of the first neighborhood built outside of Jaffa. In
the 19th century many jews chose to stay in Jaffa until 1887 when Aaron Chlouche
purchased “the first suburb of Jaffa” called Neve Tzedek. On the way we pass by Tel
Aviv’s old railway station that has transformed into a public space with shops and
restaurants.
We enter the peaceful and charming neighborhood of Neve Tzedek where some of
the most famous artists and writers lived, one of them being the nobel prize laureate
Shai Agnon.
If you are a street art lover you can do a detour by the not yet gentrified
neighborhood of Florentin, a haven for street artists, some worldwide known. We
continue onto Rostchild st one of the first avenues dating back from 1909, the
beginning of Tel Aviv.
Tel Aviv is called the white city because of its bauhaus style. Take a look at the
architecture around you and you will understand why. Here you can also notice the
difference between Jaffa and Tel aviv.
On our way to our final stop we pass by Nachalat Binyamin and the Carmel market
that was started in 1920, not long after the establishment of tel Aviv.
After the hustle and bustle of the market we finally reach our final destination,
Sarona where we can end our tour with a fine dining experience. As part of a
preservation project, Sarona was renovated in a more european style, preserving
houses of the german colony established by the templars in 1871.
I hope you enjoy your tour rich in history, beaches and modernity.
