Tel Aviv

Jaffa, or Yafo as everyone calls it here, is the original Arabic city just a walk along the coast away from Tel Aviv. In fact, you walk from Tel Aviv to Jaffa without realising it and only the general sense of decay in the buildings announces your arrival.

Jaffa is an Arabic city but many Israelis live there now as there are big apartments to rent at prices far cheaper than in Tel Aviv. It’s considered quite hard core to live in Jaffa though and apartments get burgled quite frequently. Its not the kind of place you’d want to leave a bag in your car either if you don’t want to return to find broken glass all over the seat.

The general social environment can be quite rough and you can hear the domestic fights echoing out to the street, the police arriving soon after.

It’s also not the most relaxing place to be when the conflict with the Palestinians flares up. The Arabs in Yafo hold Israeli citizenship and tolerate the presence of the Jewish Israelis here but there can be a dangerous vibe when something happens in the news. Mostly, the Arabs mark their territory with noise. Young guys cruise the streets in their cars, their radios at full blast. They pull up to the traffic lights with a blast of Arabic violins and its like the entrance of the bad guys in a movie.

No traveler to Tel Aviv shouldn’t miss out on poking around the flea market in Yafo which is open every day but biggest on the Friday. There are all kinds of smalls selling all kinds of useless junk and antique shops nearby selling lamps that the British might have used.

Much of Yafo is just full of drab housing estates but the old city in Yafo is worth a walk around. Stroll about around the beach, take in the view and then go to eat hummous – even the Israelis agree that no one makes it like the Arabs.

Back to Top - Print this page