November 8th, 2011
As we left our hotel I saw a young Jewish man on his balcony looking toward the beautiful Mediterranean Sea. He stepped out with his prayer shawl and skull cap on. He then wrapped his tefillin around his arm and forehead (reminders he is bound to the laws of God). He then proceeded to read what I would assume to be a morning prayer. It was very cool to see and experience him in his daily routine living out his religion.
We then visited the house of one of the founders of Tel Aviv, Meir Dizengoff, who would become the first Mayor of Tel Aviv. We went through his house which is now a museum. In 1908 him and several other families purchased the land from the Ottoman Turks. It was just sand dunes. Nothing existed or grew there. I found a picture below of the original families standing where they would soon establish Tel Aviv.
In just over 100 years the city now is one of the largest cities in Israel and is a booming metropolis. It was incredible to see and hear what they accomplished in just 100 years. Dizengoff's home was turned into an art gallery in the 1930's. Then, in the spring of 1948, Israel declared their Independence in the gallery. As they met for 32 minutes, declaring their statehood, 5 Arab armies were marching against the Israelis. Here are the pictures and videos from the very room Israel become a state again.
We then went to the Jaffa Port just up the coast. The view from the port was amazing. Off one direction was the setting sun over the Mediterranean Sea. The other direction you could look back at the city of Tel Aviv. There were excavations there dating back to the Maccabees Revolt in 200 bc. Lots and lots of history in this port that is known as the oldest sea port in the world. It was of course from here that Jonah sailed to Tarshish instead of going to Nineveh. It was here that Peter raised Dorcus from the dead.
While standing on top of the Jaffa Tel, we heard the Muslim evening call to prayer. This was the first time we had heard it while in country and the first time I had heard it in person. It was different.
Something else that we saw while touring the old city of Jaffa was several wedding parties. It was a Tuesday night, but I lost count of the brides and grooms that were getting their wedding pictures taken in dresses and tuxedos and all. One couple even stopped and had their picture taken among our group of wacky American tourist. So there is a newlywed couple in Israel that has a picture of our group on the streets on Jaffa. Susan, our tour guide explained why they had so many weddings on Tuesday. It dates back to the story of creation in Genesis 1:9-13. God creates the land and seas and calls them good. Then he goes on to create plants and grass and trees and he called this good also. So twice, on the third day, or Tuesday God "double blessed" his creation. And so it is Jewish tradition to have a wedding on the "double blessed" day of Tuesday. Very interesting.
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| the streets of Jaffa |
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| the streets of Jaffa |
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| looking out over Jaffa Port |
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| the streets of Jaffa looking toward the port |
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