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Tel Aviv is a city of life and movement, where your greatest tour will simply be exploring the city as it is while you are there—for tomorrow it will surely be different. While the concrete buildings and homes are permanent, the best the city has to offer is constantly moving, just like its youthful population.
But while Tel Aviv is young, it started out as a distant suburb of its four thousand year-old neighbor to the south. Jaffa, forty times as old as Tel Aviv, is a fascinating place to wander around. It is here that the whale spat out Jonah and it has been a port since the times of King Solomon. Today, Old Jaffa is a place of quaint winding alleys, cobbled streets and beautiful gardens with sea views.
If you're lucky enough to be in Jaffa on a Wednesday, the Tourist Office runs a free English speaking tour which meets at 9.30am outside the clock tower. If you are not on the Wednesday tour, don't fear. Follow the signs to Kedumim Square, where the Tourist Office is located, and pick up a map. With map in hand, you can start exploring. The area of Kedumim Square is the centre of Old Jaffa, with shops, galleries and restaurants branching off from it. The large church you can see is St. Peter's Church and Monastery. As an artist's colony, there are wonderful galleries and artisan's stores to look at.
One of the artists living in Old Jaffa, Ilana Goor, has turned her home into a piece of living art. The The Ilana Goor Museum is filled with bold and jazzy art collectors' pieces. You can sit on a state-of-the-art rocking chair or have a coffee on the top level, which has a wonderful sea view. If you're lucky, you may catch Ilana coming in with her groceries and have a chat.
The Old City is a very atmospheric place, perhaps owing to the legends that surround it, the biblical figures who have passed through it and the ruling powers who have been and gone throughout the past 4,000 years. There are good fish restaurants if you wish to stay and soak up the atmosphere. At night the Old City is lit up, adding a magical and romantic touch to any evening. In the summer months, there is free jazz on a Saturday night in Kedumim Square.
Jaffa is also famed for its Jaffa Flea Market, which is found outside the Old City, east of Yefet Street. The market has rugs, water pipes, antiques and hippy clothes aplenty, but be prepared to haggle for a good price.
If you still have the energy a walk along the Tayelet, it's the most pleasant way to travel back to Tel Aviv, which lies 2km north. There are several beachside cafes on the way back, if you want to stop and rest. The Charles Clore Park offers a green spot to sit and look at the golden sand and turquoise waves.
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