The Tel Aviv
- Jaffa city area is a long, narrow strip along the seashore.
Jaffa (locally called, and written, Yafo) is situated south of the
modern city, while Ramat Aviv, home of Tel Aviv University and the
extensive Eretz Israel Museum, is situated on the outskirts of north
Tel Aviv on the other side of the river Yarkon.
Along the prized city centre coastline are many
upscale hotels, notably the Dan, Continental and Sheraton, with
the Hilton a little further north, and impressive residential and
commercial centres, such as Opera Tower. To the east and south of
the city lie the residential suburbs of Ramat Gan, Giv’atayim,
Holon and Bat Yam.
All the diverse quarters of central Tel Aviv have
their own unique attractions and, to get a flavour of this enigmatic
city, visitors should spend time wandering the streets. 1 good way
to explore Tel Aviv is to follow its ‘orange routes’,
4 marked itineraries that can be walked (or in one case driven)
with the aid of information plaques and a leaflet for each route
(see Walking Tours in Tours of the City).
North
Tel Aviv is generally more wealthy, while Allenby Street,
which runs south from the city centre and beach, can be very seedy
in places. In the adjacent central neighbourhood known as Little
Tel Aviv, there are brilliant examples of the city’s remarkable
Bauhaus architecture, Tel Aviv has the world’s finest surviving
collection of this distinctive 1920's / 1930's style, totaling over
3,500 buildings. The Florentin Quarter is exciting and attractive,
with a selection of some of the best local cuisine in the city.
Restaurants situated in this district
are mainly run by the early settlers, who set up small family businesses,
Elimelech, on Wolffson Street, has supposedly been serving the best
Polish - Jewish food since 1936. Visitors should also feast their
eyes on some of the bakeries, scattered throughout the area, which
serve appetizing borekas (savoury filled pastries) and other traditional
snacks.
The narrow streets lined with crumbling buildings in the Yemenite
Quarter are home to Jewish refugees from Yemen, is imbued
with an Oriental, almost an Arabic style at odds with the modernism
of the rest of the city. The large and busy Carmel Market, the city’s
main open air food market, runs alongside the Yemenite Quarter.
Neve Zedek was the 1st Jewish neighbourhood outside Jaffa, established
in 1867, and it is currently under renovation. Over the years, it
has served as a home for several artists and now houses various
different galleries.
The Observatory in the downtown Azrieli Center
offers a marvellous panoramic view of these neighbourhoods, revealing
how rapid and unplanned the development of the modern city has been,
as skyscrapers and suburbs stretch into the distance.
Tel Aviv’s major sights are its assorted
and unusual museums, some focusing on Israel’s ancient history,
some on landmarks in its 20 th century Zionist history, with very
poignant records of the struggles of Jewish refugees, the conflict
with the British and with the Arabs, and the 1st steps of the new
state. Among the most impressive is the Museum of the Jewish Diaspora,
whilst in the old town of Jaffa, there are leftovers of the history
of the world’s oldest port, as well as another important museum.
However, perhaps the best of Tel Aviv, though, is the more frivolous
side, especially its brilliant beach and promenade.
Jaffa remains the Tel Avivians’ permanent favourite, with
a host of galleries, craftshops and cafés set against the
landmarks of the Mamoudiyeh Mosque and St Peter’s Monastery.
Whether by car or by foot, strolling along the coastal walkway,
all routes into Old Jaffa are busy as the evening starts. Climbing
from the Ottoman Clock Tower to Kedumim Square, visitors can view
the overwhelming coastline of Tel Aviv as the metropolis prepares
for another vibrant night.
When sightseeing or just exploring,
visitors should be aware of the powerful campaign of terrorism being
waged against Israel. Popular crowded venues, family restaurants
and cafés, busy street markets, crowded buses, student canteens,
teenage discos, have especially been targeted by suicide bombers.
Security guards have now been posted
at the doorways or entrances to most such locations and it is sensible
to be wary of venues that have not put any security measures in
place. To date, tourist sights have not been struck by the bombers,
and Arab areas are doubtful to be hit.
Azrieli Center
For a exceptional view over the unplanned sprawl
of still growing Tel Aviv and Jaffa and far beyond the city limits,
visitors should take the high speed lift (travelling at 6 metres
/ 20 feet per second!) to the 49 th floor Observatory of the downtown
Azrieli Center. On a clear day, it is possible to see, with the
aid of the powerful telescopes, Jerusalem in 1 direction and Haifa
in another.
Although its 84 window Observatory is the highest
in Israel, this extraordinary circular tower, with 50 floors above
ground and 7 below, is not quite the country’s tallest building,
having already been exceeded by the City Gate Tower (opened in Ramat
Gan in 2001). The Azrieli Center in fact consists of 3 separate
buildings, housing 100's of offices, 3 embassies and a shopping
mall, attracting 40,000 visitors a day.
Address: 132 Petach Tikvah Road
Telephone: (03) 608 1179.
Website address: www.azrielicenter.co.il
Transport: Bus 63.
Opening hours: Observatory Tuesday to Sunday 10.00 am to 8.00 pm
(Fridays shut at 6.00 pm).
Admission: NIS 20.
Bet Hatefutsot
(Museum of the Jewish Diaspora)
Devoted to the record of Jewish history and migration,
mainly since the Jews were expelled by the Romans from Israel (or
Judea, as it then was) in AD 70, the Museum of the Jewish Diaspora
provides a unique look into the development and cultural heritage
of the Jewish people up until the return to Israel.
On 6 floors, the museum displays the surprising diversity
of different Jewish communities, also highlighting the common cultural
and religious threads that enabled the Jewish people to cling on
to their ethnicity and identity for almost 2,000 years. Particularly
enjoyable are the musical sections, in which one can listen to Jewish
music from Ashkenazi and Sephardi communities and the rousing songs
of Zionist pioneer days.
The museum often hosts special exhibits related
to the migration and cultural contributions of immigrants. Recent
individual exhibitions have dealt with the island of Malta, Lithuanian
Jewry and the cultural influences on the work of Sigmund Freud.
Address: Tel Aviv University Campus, Klausner Street, Ramat Aviv
Telephone: (03) 640 8000
Facsimile: (03) 640 5727
Website address: www.bh.org.il
Transport: Bus 74, 86, 270, 274, 454, 464, 572, 575, 576 or 604
Opening hours: Sunday to Tuesday 10.00 am to 4.00 pm, Wednesdays
10.00 am to 6.00 pm
Admission: NIS 33.
Eretz Israel
Museum
The name of this significant museum on the northern edge of the
city means ‘Land of Israel’ and it
aims to trace 3,000 years of material culture through the artefacts
found on this very site, as well as examples brought in from other
Israeli locations.
Built around the extensive archaeological site
of Tel Kasile, the museum resembles a park and is housed in 12 separate
pavilions, each of which could be viewed as a museum in its own
right dealing with a separate aspect of Israel’s material
culture and ethnography. The Glass Pavilion traces the history of
glass making from the earliest instances through to the Middle Ages.
The Kadman Numismatic Pavilion, tracing the history
of several currencies, has an extensive display of coins, while
the Ceramics Pavilion has an extensive collection of ancient and
traditional pottery. The Nechustan Pavilion displays exhibits found
from the Timna copper mines, more famously known as King Solomon’s
Mines. There is also a planetarium and a widespread research library
open to the public. Visitors are advised to buy a site map upon
arrival at the museum, to help navigate their way around the different
pavilions.
Address: 2 Haim Levanon Street, Ramat Aviv
Telephone: (03) 641 5244
Facsimile: (03) 641 2408
Transport: Bus 24, 27, 45, 75 or 86.
Opening hours: Sunday to Thursday 9.00 am to 3.00 pm, Fridays and
Saturdays 10.00 am to 2.00 pm.
Admission: NIS 20.
Independence
Hall
The building that houses Independence Hall is 1
of Tel Aviv’s original structures, formerly the home of Meir
Dizengoff, the city’s first mayor. On the 14 th May 1948,
it served as the venue for the historic declaration that brought
the State of Israel into being. The house has since become a museum
recollecting that momentous day and the events that led up to it.
The building also serves as a museum giving a inspiring and patriotic
history of Zionism. Among extraordinary displays
in the museum are many charming historic photographs, showing such
moments as the barren sand dunes north of Jaffa being awarded by
lot to Jewish settlers. Others record the United Nations in session
in November 1947 voting to partition Palestine and the meeting at
which David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the creation of the State of Israel.
Address: 16 Rothschild Boulevard, south Tel Aviv
Telephone: (03) 517 3942.
Transport: Bus 5, 18, 61 or 62.
Opening hours: Sunday to Tuesday and Thursdays 9.00 am to 2.00 pm,
Wednesdays 9.00 am to 5.00 pm, Fridays 9.00 am to 1.00 pm.
Admission: NIS 12 (concessions are available).
Municipality
of Tel Aviv-Yafo/Association for Tourism
Information Desk, City Hall Lobby
Address: 69 Ibn Givrol Street
Telephone: (03) 521 8500.
Opening hours: Sunday to Thursday 9.00 am to 2.00 pm.
Information Desk, Tel Aviv Promenade
Address: 46 Herbert Samuel Street
Telephone: (03) 516 6188.
Opening hours: Sunday to Thursday 9.30 am to 5.30 pm.
Website: www.tel-aviv.gov.il/english/home.asp
There are also tourist information desks at the Central Bus
Station (6 th floor) and Ben Gurion International Airport.
Old Jaffa
The most pleasurable way to and from Jaffa is on the waterfront
walkway from Tel Aviv. Some attractive cafés
are set beside the walk as it approaches Jaffa, the tables on their
large outdoor terraces positioned for the best views along the coast.
For travellers arriving by car, the entrance to the Old Town is
marked by the Ottoman Clock Tower, a small landmark built in 1906
in honour of Palestine’s Turkish ruler, Sultan Abdul Hamid
II. Identical towers were built elsewhere in the Ottoman Empire,
including the other 2 most important towns in Ottoman Palestine,
Akko and Hebron.
The clock tower serves as 1 of
Jaffa’s major focal points for weekend crowds, who gather
around it to socialise in the balmy air or meet up before eating
at the many nearby restaurants. Around the corner from the clock
tower rise the minaret and domes of Mahmoudiyeh Mosque, constructed
by the Turks in 1809 and renovated 3 years later, with stonework
taken from the Roman ruins of Ashkelon and Caesarea. Across the
street, housed in the former 17 th century Turkish Government building,
is the Jaffa Museum, with a remarkable collection of artefacts illuminating
Jaffa’s long history.
A few paces uphill is the pretty Abrasha Park
and Kedumim Square, Old Jaffa’s
major plaza, dominated by St Peter’s Monastery. Narrow steps
and lanes, named after signs of the Zodiac, zigzag down from here
to the historic harbour, busy with traders and mariners for 1000's
of years but now strangely empty except for tourists sitting at
fish restaurants.
Transport: Bus 7, 10, 40, 44 and 46.
Ottoman Clock Tower and Mahmoudiyeh Mosque
Ottoman Clock Tower Square, Yefet Street, Old Jaffa
Jaffa Museum
Address: 10 Mifratz Shlomo Street, Old Jaffa
Telephone: (03) 682 5375.
Opening hours: Sunday to Thursday from 9.00 am to 1.00 pm.
Admission: NIS 5.
St Peter’s Monastery
Kedumim Square, Old Jaffa
Shuk
HaCarmel (Carmel Market)
Located on the edge of the Yemenite Quarter,
this daily market extends along narrow HaCarmel Street (and neighbouring
lanes), which branches off Allenby Street at Magen David Circle.
Despite the lack of traffic, it is noisy with stall holders’
cries and busy with the astonishing crush of people. Huge piles
of fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, olives, spices and meats are
on sale for the lowest prices in the city.
Stalls often specialise in just 1 item, offering
only crates of nectarines, for example, or olives or oranges. The
market is a perfect situation to observe the bringing together of
East European shtetls (Jewish villages), the Jewish quarters of
Arabia, the sophistication of European Jewry and the raucous energy
of the sabras (Jews born in Israel), all of whom are pressed shoulder
to shoulder in this crowded market. It is particually hectic and
colourful on Fridays, as people shop for Shabbat. A calmer craft
market can be found in parallel Nahalat Binyamin.
Address: HaCarmel Street, south Tel Aviv
Transport: Bus 4.
Opening hours: Sunday to Thursday 8.30 am to 7.00 pm, Friday 9.00
am to 1.00 pm.
Admission: Free.
Tel Aviv Museum
Including works from around the world, the Tel
Aviv Museum has been the nation’s principal showcase of modern
art since the 1930's and was originally housed in the home of the
city’s first mayor, Meir Dizengoff. Today, the major part
of the museum occupies a large purpose built structure adjacent
to its separate wing, The Helena Rubinstein Pavilion for Contemporary
Art. Another wing was opened last year, along with a Sculpture Garden.
In addition to hosting a succession of exhibitions
brought from the world’s leading modern art museums, the museum
maintains a renowned permanent collection of European and American
art of the 20 th century, notably Impressionist and Post Impressionist
paintings by Paul Cezanne, Claude Monet, Salvador Dali and especially
Marc Chagall. The Tel Aviv Museum also serves as a venue for a wide
range of artistic exhibitions and concerts, as well as discussions
and debate on a range of cultural topics.
Address: 27 Shaul Hamelech Boulevard, city centre
Telephone: (03) 696 1297 (information and bookings)
Facsimile: (03) 695 8099
Website address: www.tamuseum.com
Transport: Bus 9, 18, 28, 70, 90 or 11
Opening hours: Monday and Wednesday 10.00 am to 4.00 pm, Tuesday
and Thursday 10.00 am to 10.00 pm, Friday 10.00 am to 2.00 pm, Saturday
10.00 am to 4.00 pm.
Admission: NIS 30 |
