A Quick Look at Tel Aviv

It took less than 24 hours for me to fall in love with Tel Aviv.  But what exactly was this intriguing city that reminded me of so many different places all at once?  Walking down Dizengoff Street and hearing so many people speaking English with American accents, I was sure I was somewhere in New York.  Then I noticed all the hip young people spilling out of restaurants and sitting at sidewalk tables – I had to be in trendy Brooklyn.  However, the corner juice stands with their artistic displays of luscious fruit gave me pause. Those, plus the palm trees, mild November weather and proximity to the beach made me think I was in Southern California or Florida. But at the same time, there was something definitely European about the city. Maybe it was the seaside promenade, reminiscent of Nice or the sidewalk cafés that seemed to be transported from Paris. And I couldn’t ignore the Bauhaus architecture everywhere I looked.  I had to stop and ask myself, Am I really in the Middle East? Am I really just a three-hour drive from Amman? Well, yes, I answered emphatically, as the aromas wafted over from the falafel and shawarma stands. 

Because Tel Aviv is such a unique combination of disparate elements, it defies simple description. But whatever the city is, I just somehow immediately felt at home here.  

I’m grateful to our wonderful guide, Alon, for all the background information he gave us on our way into the city. He explained that the modern city of Tel Aviv is very young, founded a little over a hundred years ago, primarily by Jewish immigrants from Europe. They came at a time when anti-Semitic violence in Europe was on the rise and opportunities for Jews were extremely limited.  Rather than resign themselves to life in provincial East European towns and shtetls, many young Jews decided to build new lives in their ancestral homeland, which was part of the Ottoman Empire.  They may have been inspired by Austrian journalist Theodore Herzl’s influential 1896 pamphlet, which proclaimed that there was no future for Jews in Europe and called for the creation of a Jewish state.  

The group of immigrants who founded a Jewish neighborhood on a sand dune just north of the old city of Jaffa in 1909 weren’t idealists or socialists.  They were pragmatic capitalists who came to start businesses. When the Nazis rose to power in Germany in the 1930s, a new group of Jewish immigrants came to Tel Aviv. (By this time, the British were in control of Palestine.) Among the new immigrants were many German Jewish architects who introduced Bauhaus (aka International style) architecture, a self-consciously new and modern style, to the fledgling city.  Today, with over 4000 Bauhaus buildings throughout the city, Tel Aviv is the Bauhaus capital of the world. 

International, or Bauhaus, architecture stresses functionality.  The buildings have smooth unornamented facades and clean, modern lines.  They are generally cubic, with right angles, often with rounded corners and balconies.  Local adapations in Tel Aviv included flat roofs, use of reinforced concrete, stilt type columns raising the building from street level, and long narrow horizontal windows.  The white color of the concrete gave Tel Aviv its nickname, “The White City.”  

Looking out from the balcony of my hotel room, I could easily identify several Bauhaus style buildings. As I set out for a walk to look for more examples of Bauhaus architecture, I tried to keep Alon’s warning in mind.  He wasn’t concerned about street crime, but he cautioned us to watch out for bicycles, electric scooters, and dog poop. In fact, he told us that there’s a word – psycholists – for the crazy bicyclists who won’t stop for anyone. 

View from the balcony of my hotel room  

Demographically, Tel Aviv is modern and young.  This was apparent from the large number of families with young children that I saw during my initial walks. Additionally, the population of Tel Aviv is secular, i.e. not traditionally religious. While Jerusalem may be considered Israel’s religious capital, Tel Aviv is clearly the country’s cultural capital, with first-rate world-class museums, theaters, concerts, dance companies, etc. It’s also a very diverse and liberal city. Approximately 20% of the population belongs to the LGBTQ community. 

By the time our group gathered for the nightly rooftop happy hour provided for hotel guests, I had decided that if I ever moved to Israel, Tel Aviv is where I would live. And I really have to take a moment to sing the praises of this happy hour. It ran for 3 hours every evening, with free drinks (Israeli wines, lemonade, tea, coffee) and free food (a rotating assortment of snacks).  On our first night, the snacks included crudités, pickled vegetables, hummus, falafel, cabbage salad, eggplant salad, mini pita breads, dried fruits, crackers, nuts, cookies, and more.  This easily eliminated the need to go out for dinner!  Plus, I almost forget to mention that there was a live jazz combo providing entertainment.  If you’re planning a trip to Tel Aviv, consider staying where I did, at the Center Chic Hotel or its nearly adjacent sister property, the Cinema Hotel (both part of the Atlas Hotel Group).  And in case you were wondering, their breakfast buffet is phenomenal.  In addition to all the marvelous breads, pastries, cheeses, fruits and salads, there was shakshuka (eggs poached in a boldly seasoned mixture of tomatoes, onions and peppers) on the buffet table.

Shakshuka

The breakfast buffet was in the movie-themed Cinema Hotel. 

As I discovered the next morning today’s, Tel Aviv is much more than the buzzing modern city. After a lengthy breakfast (I had to try everything), we headed south to Jaffa, the old historical part of the city with a history going back around 4000 years.  It was originally a Canaanite settlement that came under the rule of the Egyptians for about 300 years, from the mid-16^thcentury to the mid-12^thcentury BCE.  Archaeologists have discovered monumental gates going back to the time of the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II. Jaffa’s good harbor and location on the shipping lanes between Egypt, Lebanon and Cyprus led to its growth. 

View from Jaffa towards the modern part of Tel Aviv

Reconstruction of the Egyptian gate 

For centuries, Jaffa served as an important port, bringing traders from around the world.  The mingling of cultures and ideas produced a very diverse and cosmopolitan city.  For European crusaders, Jaffa was as a gateway to Jerusalem. A Sephardic Jewish community, coming from Ottoman lands, settled in Jaffa in early 19th century. In the early 20^thcentury, many Ashkenazic Jewish immigrants settled in Jaffa, leading to some tension with the predominantly Arab population. Jaffa declined as Tel Aviv grew, but in recent years, it has become a highly desirable part of the city, with many neighborhoods being restored. Today, a third of Jaffa’s population is Arab, both Muslim and Christian.  When we drove around the landmark Clock Tower, built by the Ottomans in the early 20^thcentury, I noticed that almost all the shops had signs in Arabic as well as Hebrew. This area had distinctly Middle Eastern feel. 

Over the years, Jaffa has attracted artists, who set up studios and galleries in its picturesque streets and alleyways. Nowadays, tourists and locals alike flock to this part of the city for its artsy vibe and trendy restaurants. The narrow streets and stone arches reminded me of our medieval village in the South of France.  

To get an idea of the contemporary art scene, we visited the Ilana Goor Museum, housed on a hill in a beautiful rambling old stone building. The building is both the home of acclaimed Israeli artist Ilana Goor and a showcase of her collection of works by other artists. The beautiful rooftop garden, overlooking the port of Jaffa, featured work by several Israeli sculptors, including an amusing and provocative piece by Vered Aharonovitch. The Fountain (2014) is a satirical feminist piece inspired by the Trevi Fountain in Rome. It depicts a naked Neptune/Poseidon not as a powerful god but as a weakling being tormented by a group of little girls.  Perhaps it’s Neptune’s #MeToo moment.  

A piece by Ilana Goor inside the museum 

The Fountain by Israeli artist Vered Aharonovitch (at the Ilana Goor Museum)

After visiting the museum, we ducked out of the rain into workshop of Yemenite silver and goldsmith, Ben-Zion David, who learned his trade from his father. We sipped spicy Yemenite coffee flavored with ginger, cardamom and cinnamon (one member of our group likened it to drinking a gingersnap), admired the exquisite filigreed jewelry, and watched a video about Operation Magic Carpet, which brought the small impoverished Yemenite Jewish community to Israel in 1949-50. 

Jaffa is also the site of some important events in Christianity. We visited St. Peter’s Church, located just north of the Clock Tower Square. The current Franciscan church, with its tall bell tower, was built in late 1800s. It stands on the spot where a 13^thcentury Crusader fortress once stood. According to the New Testament, Jaffa is where St. Peter raised Tabitha, one of Jesus’ disciples, from the dead. (Since my familiarity with the New Testament is limited, I’m grateful that Alon was there with us to provide with this useful information.) 

Approaching St. Peter's Church in Jaffa

Interior of the Church 

Before we left Jaffa, we had the opportunity to spend some time at the home of a long-time Jaffa resident named Doris. As we ate the lunch she had prepared, she spoke to us at length about a variety of topics. Doris started by describing herself as a Palestinian Arab Israeli Christian woman. She spoke quite openly about her sense of identity, the challenges of being part of a minority in Israel, her hopes for the future, and her long struggle to develop an independent life in a traditional society after marrying at a very young age. It was an illuminating and thought-provoking presentation that underscored the complexity surrounding issues of identity in the Middle East. 

I could easily have spent the entire day in Jaffa, but by mid-afternoon, our group was back on the bus, heading to Carmel Market, Tel Aviv's main market. Unfortunately, it was Friday and most of the vendors were closing early to prepare for the Sabbath.  I barely had enough time to dash past the enticing displays of olives, halva, pomegranates, Judaica, spices, etc.  

So many varieties of halva!

The more I saw of Tel Aviv, the more entranced I was with the city.  I was so glad I had arranged to spend a few days here on my own at the conclusion of our OAT tour.  But first, I had a lot of other places in Israel to explore.