The longer version of the Greek myth regarding these rocks: Andromeda’s mother Cassiopeia bragged that Andromeda was more beautiful than the sea nymphs. This angered Poseidon, god of the sea, who sent a sea monster to ravage the coast. Andromeda’s father, chained Andromeda naked to a rock off the coast of Jaffa (one of the rocks in the photo) as a sacrifice to the sea monster. Andromeda was saved by Perseus, a son of Zeus, who killed the monster and then married her.

Jaffa has one of the world’s oldest ports – perhaps the oldest. According to the Bible, Jaffa was founded by Noah’s son, Japheth - actually founded around 1600 b.c.e. Also in the Bible: a) The cedars used to build the Temple passed through Jaffa. b) Jonah the prophet began his journey from Jaffa before the whale got him. Jaffa was occupied by many peoples including Egyptians, Phoenicians, and Greeks. Recaptured by Muslims after being occupied by the Crusaders. Arabs controlled it until the 20th century – it flourished under the Ottomans. The city walls were last built by the Turks in the 19th century. Jaffa was absorbed into Tel Aviv after the 1948 Jewish victory.