Tel Aviv Jaffa (aka Joppa)

Israel, the continuing story....

From Haifa, we traveled along the coastal plains and found ourselves in Tel Aviv Jaffa, known in Biblical times as Joppa.

View along the drive from Haifa to Tel Aviv

(through the bus window!)

The gorgeous Mediterranean sea

(also through the bus window!)

Today, Tel Aviv is the biggest city in Israel and is thought to be one of the oldest seaports. Did you know all embassies of the world are found here? Why? If they were in the capital of Jerusalem, they would have to choose between Jewish or Palestinian quarters. In order to avoid offense of either group, embassies have landed themselves in more neutral territory...Tel Aviv!

Here is a monument in honor of Jonah and the great fish!

He sure looks like a happy fish, doesn't he?

Here is a rooftop restaurant in Joppa...it looked so inviting, I wish there had been time to stop and have a snack! We saw various rooftops in this area...it brought to mind various passages of scripture where rooftop experiences happened.

Here is our group...walking along the paths of Joppa...such a neat experience...and quite the miracle that we didn't lose anyone during the trip! :)

Here is the Joppa harbor. This is the place that Jonah came to when fleeing the Lord from Tarshish (Jonah 1:3). And when Solomon was building the temple, cedars were brought to this harbor from Phoenicia before being transported to Jerusalem (II Chronicles 2:16).

Here's another pic looking over the harbor area..love it!

St. Peter's Church: Peter had come from Lydda to Joppa to raise Dorcas from the dead. While in Joppa he had a vision on a rooftop (Acts 10). This church marks the traditional site of Peter's vision.

A magnificent doorway into St. Peter's Church (Oh how I love neat doorways!)

Here is Micah, trying to get that perfect picture. Yep, this is how most of us looked throughout the trip. We just had to reconcile the fact that we were in fact tourists...embrace it...and maximize that tourist look....cameras clicking at every opportunity! :)

Perhaps, this is what Micah's picture looked like. At any rate, this is a glimpse of the inside of St Peter's Church!

I know these pictures are dark..but we literally stepped in the door, snapped our pics...then kept on movin!

The following pictures are just a glimpse at city life that we observed as we walked...

A street vendor...

Just a neat church steeple along our walk...

Here are some street entertainers we watched as we boarded the bus (aka our second home for the week!)

A cute little shop...too bad our guide kept saying "no more shoppin" :)

Waiting at a crosswalk, this horse walked by...no rider, no owner in sight. No one was sure what to do with a random horse...and he seemed to be obeying the traffic rules so why bother him!? :)