Old Jaffa [yafa ha'atiká] – Ancient Yafo;Arabic:يافا العتيقة,Arabic pronunciation:[jaː.faːal.ʕa.tiː.qa] – Ancient Jaffa orيافا القديمة,Arabic pronunciation:[jaː.faːal.qa.diː.ma] – Old Jaffa) is a neighborhood of Israel and the oldest part ofJaffa. A neighborhood with art galleries, restaurants, theaters, museums, and nightclubs, it is one of Israel's main tourist attractions.
Old Jaffa is located in the northwest of Jaffa, on a hill along theMediterranean Sea. Geologically, the hill of Old Jaffa is the continental north end of akurkar ridge, historically further protected through fortifications and heightened by debris.
The Old City was damaged by theNapoleonic wars and an earthquake in 1837.[1] When the wall of Jaffa, which was rebuilt in the early 19th century, was dismantled between 1878 and 1888 to allow expansion, both the city and the centres of government shifted eastwards, though the Old City remained the cultural center of the city.[2][3][4]
During the nineteenth century, theChristian population, especially theGreek Orthodox community, grew rapidly and dramatically in the Old Jaffa, and they formed the wealthyelite and the educated class in the city, and emerged as a major force in the increasinglymiddle-class trade ofjournalism.[5]
During the1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, links between Tel Aviv and theJaffa Port were partially severed by the unrest in the Old City. Palestinian fighters in Jaffa also used the Old City which contained a maze of homes, winding alleyways and an underground sewer system, to escape arrest by British security forces. Beginning in May 1936, in response to further Arab agitation in Jaffa, the British authorities suspended municipal services in the city, establishing barricades around the Old City and covering access roads with glass shards and nails. In June 15, theRoyal Engineers usedgelignite charges todemolish between 220 and 240 Palestinian Arab-owned homes in the Old City, leaving an open strip which cut through the center of Jaffa from end to end and displacing approximately 6,000 Palestinians.
The British authorities claimed thathouse demolitions in Jaffa were part of a "facelift" given to the Old City. Local Palestinian newspapers resorted to using sarcasm to describe the demolitions, writing that the British had "beautified" Jaffa using boxes of gelignite.Sir Michael McDonnell, then serving as theChief Justice of the Supreme Court of Palestine, found in favor of Arab petitions from Jaffa and, upholding existing laws regarding house demolitions, ruled against the demolitions carried out by British forces in the Old City. In response, theColonial Office dismissed him from his post.[6] The revolt led to the British authorities to encourage the construction of theTel Aviv Port on theYarkon River estuary to the north of Tel Aviv to reduce reliance on the Jaffa Port.
Disputes about the merging of Tel Aviv and Jaffa, with the former wanting only to add the Jewish neighborhoods in the north of Jaffa and the latter wanting a total merge led to a gradual unification.[7] The Old City was partly added on 18 May 1949 as part of the first Arab-controlled land to fall under Jewish control.[7] The remainder of the Old City would be added in 24 April 1950 when the complete unification occurred.[7]
Old Jaffa has increasingly gentrified with the residential population dropping dramatically and an increasing number of art galleries, restaurants, souvenir shops as well as various ongoing archaeological digs.[8][1] According to Historian Menachem Klein, 70% of structures in old Jaffa have been destroyed between 1960 and 1985, with much of the old city being covered byPisga Park.[9] There is a particular interest on the cultural melange by the relatively rare, in Israel, triple mix ofMuslim,Jews, andChristian.[8]
The Pisgah garden, known also as the Abrasha garden was designed byAvraham Karavan. It is located on the top of Jaffa hill. The garden is connected to Kedumim Square andSt. Peter's Church through theZodiac Bridge over the road (Solomon's Bay Street) that borders the hill. The gardens integrate with their surroundings, so they can be reached from different directions. The area features several different actitives and not just a park, there are archaeological excavation areas, restored homes, works of art and cannons from theNapoleonic Wars.
Current boundaries of the "Old Jaffa and Jaffa Port" neighborhood, as defined by the Municipality of Tel Aviv-Yafo (clockwise):
Immediately outside Old Jaffa:Abouelafia Bakery,Abu Hassan Restaurant
32°3′16.13″N34°45′10.94″E / 32.0544806°N 34.7530389°E /32.0544806; 34.7530389
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