Israel's Long History

One of the amazing things about the Holy Land is their long history. In the United States, most historic sites tell stories from only a hundred or two hundred years ago, and the most ancient sites only go back five hundred years. It is therefore amazing when I go to Israel where “new” can be five hundred years old and it is common to stand at the location of events which go back 3,000 years or more.

The view from Old Joppa to New Tel Aviv

In my class about Israel this week I introduced people to the city of Joppa, which was an ancient port of arrival into the Holy Land. At least one history records that Joppa was founded and took its name from Japeth, the son of Noah. Japheth left home after the flood and founded this seaside community because of its beauty (Joppa means beautiful).

A New book on Israel

Upon thinking about Japheth’s founding of Joppa, I began to think of other stories I read about Israel for one of my latest books, Israel: Stories for Your Journey. The residents of Gezer, located only twenty miles from Joppa, claim that Noah lived on the hilltop of their city. It is claimed that Noah’s wife, his daughter, and also Adam’s wife Eve baked bread in an oven near the city.

The Cavernous water source at Gezer

Walks in Israel can be walks through history, if you listen to the stories. Everyone wants a piece of the action and to tell a familiar tale about the past. Did Japheth really found Joppa? Did Noah live in Gezer? Did Eve bake bread in the cavernous hole near Gezer’s city gate? Probably not, but the stories are fun, and the reality of the matter is that people have lived in Joppa and atop the hill at Gezer for a very long time.

Israel Adventure - Day 7

Today is our last day in Tel-Aviv. Later this afternoon we will turn in the car, meet the group from Hebrew Union College, and drive to Jerusalem.  

We returned for breakfast today to the Cafe Yaffo and ate two of their breakfast specials: Israeli breakfast for two and eggplant shakshuka. As you can tell from the picture it was PLENTY! We enjoyed the food, and brought a little home. The cafe is located in the flea market district, and from our booth you can see the horse which passed our window.

After breakfast we went to Old Jaffa. Ruins are preserved beneath the plaza and we went in to see the exhibit and the multimedia multiexperiential movie. They told the story of how Jaffa is one of the oldest cities in the world, started by Noah’s son Japeth (tradition).

They had a video with the Roman agronomist (wine-taster) Judah speaking from his home (which was uncovered in an excavation - the ruins are now the location of the museum). Different people came to visit him at his home. The first was a Pharaoh, pictured above. Egypt conquered Jaffa several times.

A second visitor was Jonah, who was running from God.

A third section was on Peter’s vision of the animals.

After our visit to Old Jaffa, we went into the Mediterranean once again. We did not take swim suits, so we only waded into the water. The water cooled us off, and as this was our last day in Jaffa, we wanted to take advantage of the afternoon.

After our wade in the sea, Chelsea and Sarah went to pack, and I climbed a hill south of Jaffa, created as a greenspace in Jaffa. In this picture you can see the old harbor (left), the wharfs (straight ahead), and the Old City, with the Catholic Church at the top. There is also a lighthouse. Busses use the lot in the front to wait for tour groups.

While on top of the hill a hoopoe was pointed out to me. This is Israel’s state bird.

After climbing the hill, I returned to the apartment, we packed the car, and left Jaffa for Jerusalem.

On the way we met the group Chelsea will be working with this summer at Ben-Gurion airport. We shared a shuttle ride to our apartment (pictured below)

After settling into the apartment we went to Jerusalem’s first train station, which has been turned into an outdoor mall. They consistently have special events. They had a huge book sale going on in the middle of the train station. We ate dinner there, and returned to our apartment in Jerusalem.