The best-known rooftop in Jaffa – thanks to Peter’s famous vision – belongs to the House of Simon the Tanner (Acts 10:9-47). It is recognizable by the lighthouse, installed in 1875 to guide ships and fishing vessels past Jaffa's rocky shoals.
Members of the Armenian Christian Zakarian family, who still live in the house, were in charge of operating the lighthouse for generations. After many years of darkness, it once again illuminates Jaffa’s nights as part of the house’s restoration. In the old days, Mrs. Zakarian would welcome an endless stream of Christian visitor seeking to stand where Peter was praying when he saw his vision of the great sheet filled with unclean animals, which led him to convert the Roman centurion Cornelius in Caesarea.
The house and roof are now closed for renovation; however the Old Jaffa Tourism Association looks forward to its reopening.
www.oldjaffa.co.il