A guest post by AKUS
After spending a morning at Shuk HaCarmel, it was time to head to the mother of all shuks in Israel – the flea market in Jaffa. As usual, it was a beautiful day, with Jaffa beckoning in the distance over Tel Aviv’s golden beaches.
Old Jaffa still has not been completely taken over by various development efforts and retains a typically Mediterranean flavor:
The flea market has something for everyone, and a great deal that seems to have been collected at random and often whose purpose or use can only be guessed at:
Tucked away in the tiny store of a Persian Jew, I spotted the magnificent tray shown below. After some serious haggling, much talk about how hard times are and how bad business is to gain my sympathy, we shook hands on a deal for half the initial asking price, and it now occupies pride of place at home:
Exhausted by our shopping and the constant negotiations, it was time to repair to the restaurant owned by the well-known Abulafia family, tucked into one of the old buildings near Jaffa’s clock tower, for a wonderful lunch of fish caught that morning before heading back to the hotel for a siesta:
In the evening, what better place for a meal than the restored Ottoman Railway Station near Jaffa:
There are a variety of restaurants at this location – this one was being used for a bridal party:
After a meal, there is a bar serving drinks out doors in the cooling evening air:
We ended the evening looking for souvenirs in the gift shop, ending another active day in one of the best cities in the world to visit – Tel Aviv-Jaffa.
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- AKUS’s postcard from Tel Aviv (Bonus: blurred photo of CiF Watchers at secret meeting) (cifwatch.com)
- Postcard from Israel – Masada (cifwatch.com)
- Postcard from Israel – Kinneret Graveyard. (cifwatch.com)