Reemergence of Street Planning in Yafo (Jaffa): The Late Ottoman Ha-Ẓorfim Compound

In the second half of the nineteenth century, Yafo (Jaffa) was a rapidly changing town, reemerging from centuries of stagnation. While the mound retained its unappealingly medieval character, new neighborhoods sprouted up around it, replacing the orchards and fortifications. Urban development demanded access and connections, which were ensured with the construction of broad new throughways, with stone paving and drainage systems not seen in Yafo since antiquity. All this development naturally lured traders, officials and diplomats to build their mansions and businesses along these thoroughfares. One of these was the presently named Ha-Ẓorfim (“The Jewelers”) Street, on the eastern outskirts of the formerly walled town. Revolutionary in plan, infrastructure and elegance, it reflects the renovations in late Ottoman Yafo and exemplifies similar processes elsewhere in the land. Archaeological excavations have shed new light on the street and its alleys, and through them, a glimpse of a remarkable time of change.