Jaffa port - one of the oldest in the world, its history goes back more than three millennia. Today it is a tourist area, and curious, and operating the harbor meets the smell of fish and algae.

This place is mentioned in the Old Testament: here Hiram king of Tyre fetches rafts cedars of Lebanon to build the Temple of Solomon (2 Chronicles 2:16), it ran the ship, trying to evade the commandments of the Lord, the prophet Jonah. Far sail he could not: a terrible storm broke out, in fear frightened sailors threw overboard the prophet, and the whale swallowed Jonah (Jonah 1:15). Josephus in his "Jewish War" has left a vivid description of the mass death of citizens during the capture of Joppa, as it was then called the city by the Romans - The men of Joppa, fearing the invaders moved to standing in the roads of the court, but the morning was played the storm, the ships were broken, and people were killed in the waves.

The same Josephus noted that the city is not "natural harbor", the local beach - "uneven, krutospuskayuschiysya." Nevertheless, the port of Jaffa has always remained an important transport hub in the Eastern Mediterranean, and because tidbit. In 1917, British General Allenby conquered city by the Ottoman Turkey. In 1948, there developed a fierce struggle between Arabs and Jews. The Arabs were defeated the day before Israel's independence.

Today the port of Jaffa - the harbor, where fishing sudёnyshki based Arab-Jewish population. In parallel, a long jetty pier stretches a forest of masts, right off the coast in water visible ridge of sharp stones. They are called "rocks Andromeda": the ancient Greeks believed that this is where the hero Perseus rescued from a terrible sea monster chained to a rock beautiful Andromeda. Perseus defeated, showing the head of the monster Medusa, which made the stone. It was believed that one of the rocks in the port of Jaffa is the remains of a monster. In reality, this chain of stones - all that remains of the ancient port breakwater.

Not so long ago the harbor was reconstructed and turned into an excellent recreation area. Former warehouses converted into restaurants, a pier located on paved outdoor cafe in the port area hosts exhibitions of artists and photographers. In a converted hangar open market, where they sell fresh seafood, fish and oysters. In fishing restaurant in the farthest corner of the port offer huge portions of fried squid with beer. If you sit here a little longer, you can see how fishing sudёnyshki cast off, going on night fishing in the Mediterranean.