After breakfast, we headed north to Jaffa. Today, it is a harbor side city with lots of expensive restaurants. Historically, it was a major port in the time of Solomon. The King of the Israelites lost the town in 1468 BC to the Egyptians. Islam spread over the city in the 8th century (other than a brief Crusader conquest). British General Allenby drove out the Turks in 1917 and it became a major gateway for arriving Jewish immigrants. It’s a very small town with a few minor sites- a Franciscan church- St Peters, a Greek Orthodox Church, a sea-side mosque and a lot of artists shops.
We grabbed a quick bite of lunch at their famous bakery- established in 1880 (an Arab pizza and a sambusa) and headed south towards the Gaza Strip. Since we couldn’t drive in Gaza, we drove as far as Ashdod and Ashkelon. Both cities are new- white buildings spread across an arid landscape. Ashdod was a primarily industrial area and had the feeling of a ‘planned city’ of white buildings with little character. Ashkelon has a large population of Ethiopian and Russian Jews and is a resort capital for Israelis looking for a beach weekend. We were able to find a shopping mall and get some wine and a cooler. A stop at the Holiday Inn got us ice and we were set for the night.
After a full day of driving, we settled for dinner at the “Stagecoach” restaurant in the hotel.
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