The sun setting on the Mediterranean Sea.
The Tel Aviv coastline at night.
Tel Aviv sits on the North side of Joppa and completely dwarfs it in comparison. Joppa (or Jaffa, Yafo) has a long history in the Bible. It was originally allotted to the tribe of Dan, but they failed to capture it (Joshua 19:46-47). This photo is the ancient seaport city of Joppa.
During King Solomon's reign, Joppa served as the chief seaport of Jerusalem (which is inland about an hour). Cedars from Lebanon were floated down to Joppa and then transported to Jerusalem for the building of the temple (2 Chronicles 2:16).
Jonah sailed from Joppa when he tried to flee to Tarshish rather than obey God's command to go to Nineveh (Jonah 1:3).
Cedars from Lebanon were again floated down to Joppa on the Mediterranean for the rebuilding of the temple (Ezra 3:7).
In the New Testament, Peter raised Dorcas to life at Joppa (Acts 9:36-43). Peter also had a vision on the housetop of Simon the tanner in Joppa showing him God wanted him to share His "good news" with the Gentiles. This led to Peter's ministry in the house of Cornealius at Caesarea about 35 miles north on the coast (Acts 10).
A few photos of downtown Joppa at night.
When we returned to the hotel, we saw the most amazing lilies in the lobby, so we had to get a picture!
Currently Israel is 9 hours ahead of Arizona, so it's after midnight while we're posting this, time to get to sleep. Fun things ahead tomorrow! God bless!
