TEL AVIV SITE HIGHLIGHTS
AYALON INSTITUTE
Formally a clandestine munitions factory built by the Haganah (the pre-independence armed forces) under a kibbutz. The factory operations were concealed by a bakery and laundry; a 10-ton oven and a large washing machine hid entrances to the shop floor, which housed as many as 50 workers who, at the peak, produced 40,000 bullets a day. The noise of the washing machines camouflaged the din of the manufacturing process below ground.
BIALIK STREET
Bialik is one of Tel Aviv’s most historic streets. At the end of the street is a striking mosaic-covered fountain by Nahum Gutman.
CAESAREA
Caesarea began two decades before the birth of Christ. Named in honor of Roman emperor Caesar Augustus, it was intended that the town should lack none of the attributes associated with the Greco-Roman culture. As many as 20,000 spectators could enjoy the spectacle of horse and chariot racing in the Hippodrome.
CARMEL MARKET
Tel Aviv’s largest outdoor produce market. Tip: As you enter the market, scoot behind the t-shirt stalls towards a small booth selling savory borekas. Pockets of puff pastry filled with cheese, potato, or spinach are the perfect snack to fuel your trip through the market.
DIZENGOFF STREET
Tel Aviv’s main shopping street, which is named after Tel Aviv’s first mayor, Meir Dizengoff. It is at its liveliest around the junction with Frishmann Street, where there are plenty of street cafes. The Bauhaus Center is located here.
HABIMA THEATRE
Every night, when the curtain goes up in the Habina National Theater, a dream which began in Moscow in 1913 and came to fruition in Tel Aviv, is reborn as it captivates its audiences time and again.
INDEPENDENCE HALL
It is here that Ben Gurion declared the independence of Israel on May 14, 1948. The museum’s Hall of Declaration remains, as it was on that day, with original microphones on the table and a portrait of Herzl, the Zionist leader.
JAFFA OVERLOOK
Art galleries, jewellers’ shops and antique shops line the narrow alleys. Restaurants and cafes with magnificent views of the glittering night skyline of Tel Aviv enhance the atmosphere.
NEVE TZEDEK
Neve Tzedek is where Tel Aviv began. The settlement was founded on empty sandy flats in the late 1880’s by a group of Jewish families keen to escape overcrowding in the port of Jaffa. Today, the area retains the feel of a small village, with narrow lanes lined by high walls and a strange mix of architectural style.
RABIN SQUARE
A large rectangular plaza in the eastern part of central Tel Aviv. It is overlooked by City Hall, a brutal concrete block that is softened by colorful windows. The square is a venue for demonstrations, celebrations, and concerts.
ROTHSCHILD BOULEVARD
One of Tel Aviv’s most elegant old thoroughfares, lined with palm trees and some of the city’s finest examples of Bauhaus buildings.
TEL AVIV
Tel Aviv represents the modern face of the Jewish state – a brash, confident centre of commerce and contemporary culture. It is also a true Mediterranean resort city, with a long, sandy beach fringed by cafes, bars, and shops. Away from the seafront are gracious palm-filled avenues, lined with elegant buildings in the international Bauhaus style. All this started in 1909.
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