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Jaffa Flea Market stories
Jaffa Flea Market stories
USK Reportage 2023
USK Reportage 2023
By Irena Spector
By Irena Spector
I started working on this reportage on the sunny and hot days of September, before the Jewish New Year holidays. The atmosphere of the Jaffa flea market ("Shuk ha Pishpeshim" or simply the "Shuk") is festive at any time of the year and on any day of the week, let alone during the holidays
My affection for this Jaffa gem is hard to put into words, but if I had to try, I'd call it bright, varied, colorful, noisy, and a beautiful blend of modernity and antiquity.
Bar "Shaffa" is one of the modern and hottest places in the flee market. It is my favorite! There are a lot of students, young artists, musicians. Here you can sit for hours, hear the latest news, enjoy live music in the evenings, and, of course, draw!
Here you don’t need to look for characters for the story, they are everywhere, just sit down in a cafe or on a bench with a sketchbook. Some seem to deliberately show no interest, while others do not hesitate to approach and ask what I am doing here.
Waiter from "Shaffa" that was very busy with orders, running from one table to another, somehow magically combining casual chat with work responsibilities
Rami Girma, a homeless man, arrived from Ethiopia in late 1984. He collects books. His main hobby is the Akkadian language- an ancient language from the Semitic language family belonging to the Semitic-Eastern branch. This language was used in Mesopotamia among the Assyrians and Babylonians between 2500 BC and 100 AD. In his cart there are a lot of books and it is hung with sheets with inscriptions in this language. “This is the real Hebrew language, the language of God... I am writing about it... Do you want me to write to you?”
“I don’t like to be in one place... I’ve been in Shuk for five days... before that I was in Jerusalem... many people here already know me... now I’m leafing through an album with photographs of nature, I love different books... I find them in landfills... It so happened that I I don’t live in one place... I’m a social case, but I'm not complaining…"
"That's it, now tell me about yourself..."
The market's old-timers, hailing from the Jewish community of Iran, have been trading here since the eighties or even the seventies. Their laconic demeanor carries a hint of disdain, yet a hard-hidden interest gleams in their eyes.
Reuven's Carpet Shop: He's from Iran, has been running the shop for the last 40 years, like many local old-timers, doesn't like the changes in the Shuk and misses the old days
Asher's Antique Shop: He has many shops in the Shuk. He comes from Egypt, lived for some time in France, then came to Israel. The store is about 20 years old. He buys goods from local traders, mainly from India and Iran.
Bondi is a store salesman, a native of Turkey. Taciturn, but kindly agreed to answer a few questions. “Asher is already an old man, he just comes, sits, these shops are his life...”
"Who buys here? Designers, architects... to decorate interiors. Sometimes art students."
“Who are our neighbors? Anyone, there’s an Arabic cafe across the street, we’ve known each other for a hundred years, we live...work side by side, we don’t quarrel, he treats me to coffee, I tell him my stories.”
Yaffa Knafeh, touted as the best knaffe place in Israel (or at least in Tel Aviv), adds a sweet note to the market's diverse offerings.
Knafeh is made with a flaky phyllo dough, creamy cheese, and a sweet syrup. It is recommended to eat it with ice cream and wash it down with black Arabic coffee.
Atidel, a saleswoman and cook, humorously wonders about their popularity, attributing it to being a part of a big family from Jaffa involved in the culinary business for years, having old traditions and secret recipes. “This is a relatively new place, only three years old... before that there was a place with falafel, but knaffe goes better... … after all, old recipes have weight... who doesn’t buy here … yes, it’s delicious.”
"You manage so deftly... but is it easy?" "No, it’s not easy, it only looks that way from the outside... you need to do everything quickly, this comes with experience..."
“Will I continue to work here? I don’t know yet, I love this place, but who knows what will happen next? Maybe the family will open something else, things are going well...”
Cafe Puaa, one of the oldest places on the Shuk. Its furnishings are made up of items purchased from the Shuk itself. I think that this is one of the most organic places in the Shuk, combining both old and new, including its regulars.
My personal favorites are the antique shops, where I can lose myself in various artifacts, debris, and old photographs. The thrill of inventing stories about the lives these items once led is truly unmatched.
Uzi is the owner of several antique shops in the Shuk. I was attracted by an antique sewing machine, I remember my great-grandmother had one. Uzi did not object to the fact that I chose his store for sketches. “This is a shuk, a street shop, how can I forbid someone to be here or draw?” Although he showed a reserved interest in what I was doing, he unfortunately refused to answer the questions: “Come some other time…"
My treasures from Shuk:
As this project unfolded, little did I anticipate the division of time into "before and after" the tragic events of October 7th—the day of the Hamas attack on Israel. The war became a stark reality, freezing time momentarily. Returning to the flea market a month later brought a mix of emotions.
Fortunately, the familiar faces remained—backgammon players, merchants, even the homeless. Yet, a noticeable silence hung in the air, with closed cafes, fewer tourists, and a sense of unity among the locals.
I ordered coffee and took out a sketchbook, starting with the general view opposite. "Can you draw us?" came from the next table. "Sure!"
Reuven repairs the old carpets: “My hands are ruined, but I can’t live without work...”“How are things going?! What do you think? Yes, terrible! First Covid, now the war... I've been here for a long time... once upon a time carpets weren't sold on every corner... You had to run around looking for a good carpet...... But I love this place, everyone knows me... Things have changed, the youth... made this place fashionable... I don't like it, but what can I do?"
"Where do I buy the goods? Mostly Alte Zachen ( old things in Yiddish)… Here's from him, for example":
Ghazi, an Alte Zachen merchant, from south Hebron. He asked me to draw him and wondered about the project.
“There are a lot of tourists here, all with some kind of projects, this place attracts… I come here every morning, even though it’s not close to my place... These are difficult times, it’s bad that there’s war, it’s wrong… and it is bad that there is no solution… fortunately this place (the Shuk) is not involved… the people remain the same...”
As the evening settled in, the flea market quieted down with shops closing one by one. In the midst of this, a bride in a fancy white dress showed up for a pre-wedding photo shoot. Life kept moving, indifferent to the changing scene.
Concluding this report proves challenging; there's no definitive endpoint. Life persists amidst constant change, bringing joy and sorrow in equal measure to individuals. Finding solace in contemplation, I'm grateful for the chance to sketch, document, and be part of ongoing events.
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