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photo page 34 |
We have visited Tel Aviv only once before, in 1994, one night in a hotel. To get to know this gigantic city a bit better,
we have booked a room for three nights in a guest house near the old town of Jaffa. The domestic flight from Eilat to Ben Gurion
is a lot cheaper than fuel for the Land Rover, and parking in Tel Aviv is next to impossible, so we travel by plane. Clear weather and
a window seat overlooking the Negev allows us to make some nice pictures. First, we fly over the area where we have been camping last week
(C) and shooting bow and arrows (B). |
Ten minutes later we fly along side the small crater, our final pick nick area (P) during the spice route trip. The exit where the
crater wall has collapsed is clearly visible (U). |
From the hotel it is only a five minute walk to the coast. The boulevard has been extended all the way from Tel Aviv to Jaffa and is
a splendid walk. A man who looks as if he had better eaten the fish himself, dumps a bag of food on a big stone, and dozens of cats
appear with the tails high in the air. It looks a battle of the blacks against the tabbies, but eventually every cat gets his share. |
A cat called Bin Laden has developed a special technique for a private meal. Bin there, done that? |
All this eating triggers our appetite, so we enter MantaRay, a beach side restaurant. They have poyke with mixed sea fruits. Well, fruits....
four complete crabs are hiding in the pot, and after some training we attack them with special tools. Fat dripping up to our elbows, but what
a joy! |
Jaffa (or Yafo as the Israelis pronounce it) is highly picturesque, and photographers with brides and groom are everywhere.
Spontaneous pictures are a big no-no here: every picture is carefully posed.
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As the sun begins to set, we are still walking the boulevard, and see the famous silhouette of Jaffa against the horizon. |
Wow: sundown at sea: in Eilat the sun disappears behind the mountains, but here, at the shore of the Mediterranean, stunning sunsets
can be seen.
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We visit the excavations in the heart of Jaffa, where host Liron turns out to be married to a girl from Hardinxveld, who works just two
streets from our home in Holland. It's a small world, aint it? Walking back to the hotel, we try the night-setting of the
camera, resulting in a fantastic skyline picture of Tel Aviv.
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Kikar Rabin, where prime minister Rabin was murdered in 1995, has some small parks with these man sized unusual looking palm trees.
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Tel Aviv cannot extent sideways, and thus grows into the sky. We visit the brand new Azrieli towers, en enjoy the views from the
49-th floor. The observatory is in the round tower, the somewhat lower triangular tower is also ready, but the third tower, a square,
is still under construction. |
View to the north west, with the electric power plant near the shore and the university to the right.
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Walking back from Kikar Rabin, we stumble upon a small archery shop, walk and shop in the huge Dizengoff center,
and continue our walk south to the Shuk HaCarmel. The shuk is a permanent market with lots of vegetables, meat and nick-knacks.
The Christmas decorations and umbrella's mingle with the oranges.
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This market stall specializes in fresh herbs. | |
On certain days, an art market is held on nearby Nahalat Benyamin. Dozens of stalls with beautiful or funny items, paintings, clay work,
and an intriguing collection of animals made from cutlery. And lots of street performers, such as this delegation from the muppet show....
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...and living statues. |
When we finally boarded a taxi, it stopped after just a few minutes: it appeared we had walked almost all the way back to the hotel.
After a short break, we pay another visit to Jaffa, as we did not have had any time yet to visit the art shops. Armed with an audio-guide
we walk the streets once more.
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On the main city square we take a sip, and enjoy another splendid sunset.
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View from the hotel: this house, in dire need of TLC, was still inhabited. Many of the wooden buildings in this area are made
by Americans from the state of Maine, while the hotel was located in a stone building that once was the palace of tsar Ustinov
(grandfather of the famous actor), but has also been used as police office and school.
The hotel turned out to be some sort of Christian youth hostel, with prayer rooms, biblical paintings, several congregations and
almost everyone walking around with a bible pressed in the armpit, discussing the wonders of this world. Thus, we try not to spend
too much time there: we sleep, have breakfast, and split. Sleeping was also not the best: the room was rather cool and
had no heating, and despite the spacious size of the room the beds were much too short for Europeans, as were the blankets.
But it was definitely cheap!
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Oh, and breakfast wasn't very inspired as well. The last day, we decide to skip breakfast, and walk to a nearby restaurant at the
boulevard. They knew all about breakfast: giga-cappuccino, Kir Royal, fresh orange juice, omelets, tatziki,
cream cheese, salads, olives, special breads, the lot!
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