Yafo

Yafo, known in Hebrew as Yafo and in Arabic as Yafa, is an ancient port city on the Mediterranean coast in Israel. It forms part of the Tel Aviv-Yafo municipality, located just north of the city of Tel Aviv. The harbor of Yafo has supported settlement and trade for millennia, and the area shows a long succession of cultural influences, including Canaanite, Phoenician, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Islamic, Crusader, and Ottoman periods.

In modern times, Yafo underwent extensive urban change. After the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, much of its Arab population left or was displaced, and in 1950 Tel Aviv and Jaffa were merged to form the Tel Aviv-Yafo municipality. Since the late 20th century, Old Jaffa has been revived as a cultural and residential quarter, with galleries, studios, restaurants, and boutique shops. The port remains active as a working fishing harbor and as a tourism hub, and the historic Old City area preserves stone houses, narrow lanes, and several landmark sites.

Notable sites include the Jaffa Port, St. Peter’s Church, the Old City walls and towers, and the Ajami neighborhood, which preserves part of Jaffa’s Arab heritage. Yafo today is a mixed urban district with Jewish and Arab communities, known for its arts scene, culinary traditions, and its close historical and geographical ties to Tel Aviv.