Amazing pictures of Tel Aviv and Jaffa

There’s this place smack dab in the center of the boardwalk that stretches from Jaffa to Tel Aviv.

And if you stand there and face the sea, that rolling sea always over-flowing, and you look to your left, you see the ancient port city of Jaffa — a place of artists and poets, of fisherman and tourists. Of ancient stone where shadow and light play off one another.

A place where in the middle of a renovation, an entire archaeological site dating back to the Bronze Age is discovered buried beneath a jewelry store.  So they built a museum around it, because, this is Israel.

And to your right as you face the sea, you see Tel Aviv — that hub of modern commerce, where the conversation still flows from the cafes and pubs at 3 in the morning, where families stroll the boulevards late into the night. Where people from all walks of life meet on the sand, wade in the water, and watch the sunset.

A city of contrasts, of high rises and hovels. Of high minded ideals, and heroin needles on the street. Of traffic. Of beaches. The modern, the ancient, in exquisite and complex syncopation.

Jaffa Port. Photo by Avi Mayer.

Do you have truly amazing photos of Tel Aviv and Jaffa? Send them to me at sarah@timesofisrael.com.