Tel Aviv from its beginning back to Jaffa

The Jaffa Railway Station was built in 1892 as part of the construction of the first railway line between Jaffa and Jerusalem. Before the First World War in 1914, the station and the railway were operated by a French company, which acquired the exclusive right granted to him by the Turkish ruler Abed al-Hamid in 1888 from the Jewish businessman Yosef Navon. In those days, the railway between Jaffa and Jerusalem experienced wonderful days. Despite the slow 4-hour journey from Jaffa to Jerusalem, the train used an increasing number of passengers. Among them were merchants, tourists and pilgrims. Among them were not a few famous personalities. For example, the seer of the state of Israel, Benjamin Zeev Herzl. Translated with Google Translate

The Ezel Museum is named after Amihai Feglin. He is also known as Beth Gidi, and it contains exhibits and documents telling about the history of Irgun (ECEL - Irgun Zwai Leumi - the national military organization), starting with the resolution of the United Nations General Assembly on the division of Palestine on November 29, 1947. Partition of Palestine was supposed to happen after the expiration of the British Mandate in 1948, on British territory, which England gained after the First World War. Mandated territory was to include the territory of two states: the Jewish state of Israel and the Arab state of Palestine. The Jewish leadership and the Jewish population of the mandated English Palestine were enthusiastically preparing for the creation of two states, while the Arab population categorically opposed the creation of a Jewish state. In conjunction with this, back in 1936, the Arabs of British Palestine launched a large anti-English uprising lasting 3 years, until, with the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the British brutally crushed this uprising. With the UN decision of November 1947, the confrontation between Jews and Arabs intensified and led to an actual civilian outbreak, which the British did not want to intervene, realizing that they were withdrawing their troops and ceasing their presence in Palestine in the spring of 1948. One of the most fierce battles was the battle between Jewish Tel Aviv and Arab Jaffa. EZEL’s soldiers were stationed by the Jewish leadership at the junction of Tel Aviv and Jaffa and took the brunt of the street battles of 1948 (April 25-28, 1948). The museum building is actually one of the houses of the Manshi district, which were almost completely destroyed in the battle for sovereignty between Jaffa and Tel Aviv. Translated with Google Translate

The building in which the current museum is located was built in 1900 by a Jewish entrepreneur who settled in Jaffa in the new, only developing outside the city walls, Manshie. After his death, the house was acquired by an Arab family and was used interchangeably for residential, industrial and commercial purposes. After the Jewish pogrom perpetrated by the Arabs in Jaffa in 1929, the attic of the building was rented by a Jewish family who fled from Jaffa. During the great Arab uprising in 1936, the British decided to raze some of the most explosive areas in Jaffa, relocating its Arab inhabitants to homes in Manshia. Arabs settled in this building, and the Jewish family living in the attic was no longer able to live in it. The British destroyed a large part of Jaffa, finally crushing the Arab uprising in 1939, and the Manshia region became the most hostile to both the British and the Jews of Tel Aviv. In the first months of the war of independence, the front line between the Jews of Tel Aviv and the Arabs of Jaffa passed between the Neve Tzedek quarter and Menasha quarter. The building, which later became a museum, was part of the Arabs' fortification line. During Passover in 1948, Ezel launched a campaign to eliminate this Jaffa resistance enclave, during which 41 soldiers were killed and 82 wounded. Next to the museum building was the last Arab outpost, which fell into the hands of Irgun, which paved the way for the surrender of the Manshia region and all of Jaffa. For many years the entire territory of Manshia and Jaffa lay in ruins. In the late 1970s, when it was decided to clear the rubble of the ruined area, members of the former Etzel organization turned to the municipality of Tel Aviv with a request to create a memorial complex that would perpetuate the memory of their comrades who died in battle. The museum was named the museum of Amihai [Gidi] Faglin ”, which was a military officer of Irgun, and, more simply, the museum became known as“ Beit Gidi ”. Architects Amnon Niv, Amnon Schwartz and Danny Schwartz restored a part of the stone building and integrated it in 1983 into a modern structure. Translated with Google Translate

On the modern embankment, the construction and improvement that is ongoing to this day, you can see a small area and very often photographed people on an outstanding spearhead in the sea, like the bow of a ship, on a concrete balcony. Many say that it symbolizes the ships that came to the port of Jaffa, and many say that this “ship's nose” reminds of a neighboring street called Ruslan. Ruslan is the name of the ship that sailed from Odessa at the end of 1919 after a huge effort to obtain exit permits, and after the British, the new rulers of the country, agreed to the arrival of the ship in the port of Jaffa. The ship left the port of Odessa and began to raid off the coast of Jaffa on December 19, 1919. On board were 671 immigrants, and it marked the beginning of the third wave of mass repatriation to Eretz Yisrael. Among these people was the majority of writers, doctors, engineers, artists, teachers and representatives of other free professions. Many compare this ship in the history of Israel with the Mayflower ship in the history of the United States of America. Among its passengers were: the poetess Rachel (Israeli Akhmatova and Tsvetaeva in one person), historian Joseph Klausner (historian, Israeli prize winner, writer uncle Amos Oz), Dr. Moshe Glikson (philosopher and publicist, editor-in-chief of leading publications in the country), engineers and architects Yehuda Magidovich and Zeev Rechter (they largely own the look of historical Tel Aviv) choreographer, screenwriter, cameraman Baruch Agadi (founder of Israeli cinema and choreography), cartoonist Arie Navon, Rosa Cohen - mother of Yitzhak Rabin, sculptor Moshe Tzi fer, Rachel Cohen-Kagan (the first woman member of the Israeli parliament), Dr. Arie Dostrovsky - founder of the School of Medicine and the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Jerusalem, and many other names that have played an important role in Israel's history. Translated with Google Translate

It offers views of the promenade and Tel Aviv. Old cannons are installed here. Istria says that Napoleon Bonaparte, in order to lighten his ships and get away from the English frigates, ordered to flood the ship’s guns and hastily leave Jaffa, leaving injured soldiers with typhoid fever in his monasteries. Upon arrival in Paris, the emperor said his famous phrase: "What would you do with France without me?" Here you can meet different tourists, even Muslims from India from Punjab. Translated with Google Translate

The Aladin restaurant in old Jaffa is located in an old building and was once my favorite. The indoor hall, as well as two open verandas, offer stunning views of the sea, Tel Aviv embankment and the mythical cliffs of Andromeda, which, according to legend, are a reminder of a sea monster turned into stone. The meal on the open veranda seemed to me fabulous ten years ago at sunset, when the sun was rapidly setting over the sea horizon, staining the outgoing day with red and pink tones, which were echoed by the awakening lights of the skyscrapers of big Tel Aviv. The forty-year history of the restaurant knows many romantic moments, the fruits of which were numerous acquaintances, novels, marriages and just good relations. But, alas, nothing lasts forever under the moon, and everything flows, everything changes. Translated with Google Translate

The modern church is built on the grounds of the destroyed church of the Byzantine period and the remains of the buildings of the time of the Crusaders. The Byzantine church was destroyed during the invasion of the Persians in 614 AD, and was partially restored at the end of the Byzantine period in the Holy Land. The German king Frederick II - the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire built a large fortress on the ruins of the Byzantine church, which was destroyed by Muslims and rebuilt during the Seventh Crusade by the French king Louis (Louis) the Ninth. This fortress, church and monastery were destroyed in 1264 A.D. Mamelukes, however, one of the semicircular towers was preserved and was used in the construction of a modern church by Franciscan monks in 1654. Franciscans built not only a church, but also a large coaching inn, which was used by almost all European pilgrims to the Holy Land in the 17th and 18th centuries. Napoleon and his numerous scientific expedition to the Holy Land, was located in this inn in 1799. Translated with Google Translate

The fountain of zodiac signs is another, relatively young landmark of the ancient city. The fountain was created by sculptors Varda Givoli and Ilan Gelber in 2011 (the design of the images was developed by Navot Gil). It is made of limestone of different densities and twelve zodiac signs are presented in it in its original form with a large share of humor. Istria of the signs of the zodiac and Jaffa is associated with a group of enthusiasts led by Abraham (Abrash) Shekhter, who turned the city, once destroyed by the British, into a beautiful oasis for artists, and already with them, it was decided to name the streets of the new city by the names of the zodiac signs . Thus was born the good tradition of the zodiac signs in Jaffa. Translated with Google Translate

Jaffa Bridge in Jaffa is another attraction of the Old Town. Being the oldest port city in the world, Jaffa has concentrated many interesting and curious places. Of particular importance is given to the signs of the zodiac. They named many streets of the city, they are found in the form of mosaics and symbols on the houses. In the center of Jaffa, a small bridge is built across the moat, on which there are also symbols of the 12 zodiac signs. Touching your own, you should make a wish, and it will come true. This place is shrouded in secrets and mysteries, like the whole city of Jaffa. Couples in love love to come here. Not far from the bridge is a hanging tree, and just south of the Gate of Ramses the Second. Translated with Google Translate

The large stone sculpture of the sculptor, reminiscent of an ancient gate, was created by sculptor Daniel Kafri from Jerusalem between 1973-1975. The gate consists of two pillars four meters high and a stone four meters long rests on them. These sculptural gates symbolize the gates to the Land of Israel and express the connection of the Jewish forefathers - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob with the Land of Israel in the past, present and future. On one of the pillars depicts the sacrifice of Abraham, on the other the dream of Jacob. And not on the upper horizontal stone, priests surround the city of Jericho, holding a shofar, and carry the Ark of the Covenant. This gate also connects Ancient Jaffa and modern Tel Aviv, the mountains of Jerusalem in the east and Europe in the west, because it was through Jaffa that Peter went from Jerusalem to Rome in order to create the Church of Jesus there. Translated with Google Translate

The history of Jaffa and its archeology is saturated with different eras and is reflected not only in material culture, but also in historical chronicles. The period of the Iron Age, when different tribes began to settle in Canaan almost simultaneously from the sea and from the side of the desert, is represented relatively poorly, but for sure. From the sea, Jaffa and other coastal cities were captured by the peoples of the sea, nicknamed the invaders (plishtim). They came from the islands of the Aegean and mainland Greece during the great migration of peoples. Jewish tribes entered the Canaan from the east after leaving Egypt. They crossed the Jordan, and their locals began to call Hebrew (Jews). Since that time, artifacts remained in Jaffa, which included Philistine ceramics and the remains of a sacred place called the “Lion Temple” - a hall measuring 5.8 × 4.4 m, with two bases in the center for wooden pillars that supported the ceiling. A lion skull was found on the floor, and next to it is half the seal of a scarab (an ancient Egyptian symbol). This period can probably be attributed to an episode in Greek mythology, when Perseus, rescuing the beautiful Andromeda chained to a rock - the daughter of King Jaffa, removed the head of the Gorgon jellyfish from the bag, and the sea monster who was about to reach its victim - Andromeda, from the sight of the Gorgon turned to stone. The stone cracked and collapsed off the coast, creating dangerous rocks at the entrance to the port, but everyone was saved, and the young lived happily ever after. Translated with Google Translate