The Jaffa Clock Tower Square is a central square in Jaffa, northeast of the old city. The square is located at the northern end of Yefet Street and at the southwestern end of Raziel Street, and in the past served as a starting point for three main roads that started there and went all over the country. The square is named after (and famous for) the impressive clock tower, located in its center.
History of The Clock Tower
The square got its name from the clock tower in its center, built-in 1906 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the rule of Turkish Sultan Abdul Hamid II. The cornerstone was laid in 1900 in the area where the road that encircled the walls of Jaffa and the area itself passed, and the square and clock were built together with dozens of other clock towers throughout the Ottoman Empire that celebrated the Half-Jubilee, including several other clock towers in Israel, including in Jerusalem, Acre, And Haifa.
The clock and the money for the construction of the tower were donated by Yosef Bey Moyal, a wealthy Jewish merchant that originated from Morocco, who contributed to the construction of clock towers in other cities in Israel as well. It is said that Moyal decided to contribute to the construction of the clock tower after he got tired of the harassment of passers-by, train passengers on the nearby Jaffa-Jerusalem line, who used to enter his store and ask what time it was. In order not to disturb him, Moyal initiated the erection of the tower and the setting of the clock in honor of the Turkish sultan. Four clocks were installed in the tower: two of them showed the time in Europe and two the time in the Land of Israel.
The erection of the clock tower marked a cultural change in the city, for until then the only bells that rang were at the tops of churches and mosques, and the erection of the “civil” clock tower symbolized the cultural change in the direction of civil society. The Jaffa Clock Tower Square became a central place after the demolition of the city walls in the 19th century, and around it operated markets, government buildings, and a commercial center.
Jaffa tradition holds that Moyal installed a bell at the top of the clock that announced the time by ringing. Since the sound of the sound prevailed over the sound of the muezzin (the person who proclaims the call to the daily prayer five times a day at a mosque), the installer of the clock was asked to loosen the bell, so that the sound of the clock would not overpower the sound of the muezzin of the nearby Mahmoudia Mosque.
The square was initially used before the construction of the clock tower as the assembly and speeches square of the ruler of Jaffa whose office was also located in it, and the square area served as the starting point for four main roads to the rest of the country, and adjacent to it were carriages that left in direction of those main roads. Below the public buildings in the square were erected “covered passages for pedestrians” that led out to the streets surrounding the square.
Around the square are several interesting buildings. The Turkish Government building (a-Saraya al-Jadida) – a building that served the Turkish government in the land of Israel and was blown up by the Lehi militant group in 1948, and is now restored and used by the Turkish embassy in Israel as a center for Turkish culture. Near to it is the Jaffa City Hall – “The Baladia”. Opposite the government building on the other side of the square was the police station and the Turkish detention center – “Kishla”, where the famous Israeli film “The Policeman Azoulay” starring Shaike Ofir was shot in 1971, and the “Gate of the Rulers” led to the Mahmoudia Mosque and other buildings.
The square serves as a tourist site, with restaurants and hotels, and as the main passage to the Jaffa flea market east of it and the Jaffa port west of it.
The Clock Square in Jaffa today
There is something fascinating about standing in front of a piece of history like the mythological clock that has been standing for more than a century as if defying time and environmental changes. The fact that the place serves as a crossroads between modern Tel Aviv and Old Jaffa makes it a kind of gateway between two different worlds – and the beautiful square returns us, even if for a slight moment, to a different era, time, and geographical space.
In the square itself, there is not much to do except walk around a bit and be impressed (and the view is definitely impressive, especially in the evening) – but around the square, there are interesting routes leading west to Jaffa port, up to Old Jaffa, east to the flea market or north to Charles Clore Park. The square area itself has nice cafes, ice cream parlors, in the streets around it quite a few shops, and of course the famous Abulafia Bakery nearby.
