Jaffa — known in Arabic as Yafa — was one of the oldest and most important port cities in Palestine. For centuries it served as the main gateway to the Holy Land, receiving pilgrims, merchants and travellers from across the Mediterranean. When Bonfils photographed Jaffa in the 1870s, it was a thriving, cosmopolitan city of Palestinian merchants, fishermen and craftsmen — a place of extraordinary energy and beauty.
