Tel Aviv | Israel On Blog

Category Archives: Tel Aviv

Everything you want to know about Tel Aviv.

Tel Aviv’s Markets – Fresh & Spicy

October 7, 2007 – 1:55 am

Tel Aviv’s markets are the best show in town, and they’re bustling all day long. A Middle Eastern mélange of tastes, scents, sounds, colors – and lots of people.

The Carmel Market, Bursting with life, with surprises tucked away. For those who are mad about markets, this place is heave. And for fans of freshness, there could be no better destination – perfect parsley, the juiciest melons, the most marvelous mangoes. Not to mention the meat, the fish, the cheeses, the flowers – a true cornucopia of flavors and aromas.

Don’t miss the shops in the tiny alleys behind. That’s where you’ll find the genuine gems: the cheese and smoked meat delicatessens, the barrels full of herring and other salted fish, all varieties of pickles, halvah and other sweets, even clothing and fabric shops. Your nose will guide you to the bakeries, spice shops and coffee-roasters.

The Carmel Market is a feast for senses, an anthropological and gastronomic adventure. For visitors who are marketplace aficionados, a captivating two-hour exploration of this truly authentic bazaar will add a memorable dash of spice to their stay in Tel Aviv.

Open every day except Saturday, from 8 a.m. until evening (shops close earlier on Friday afternoons, before Shabbat). Located between Allenby Street and the seashore.

The Flea Marker- Bargains and hidden treasures in Jaffa. Antique furniture, hand made carpets, wooden statues, china dolls, colorful pillows, swords, narghiles, silver and copper items from the East (both Near and Far) – you can find here everything! The bustling partially covered market is packed with bargains to suit every taste and pocketbook, especially for those who have time and patience.

The young – and the young at heart – will find clothing and accessories, much of it Indian-style: sharwal pants, bright tunics and ponchos, scarves in every hue, as well as jewelry made from silver, wood and plastic. Most of the merchandise makes their long way here from the Far East.

You can find here tiny cafes, simple workers’ eateries and fresh juice, but the jewel in the crown is the legendary Abulafia bakery on Yefet Street. Don’t miss the freshly baked pittot topped with eggs, cheese, za’atar (a local herb) and olive oil, or the piping-hot sambusak, a pastry stuffed with delicious fillings.

Open Sunday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Fridays until 2 p.m. Located near the Clock Tower at the beginning of Yefet Street.

The Nahalat Binyamin Pedestrian Mall

Twice a week, in the laid-back, urban atmosphere, Isreal’s main crafts fair showcases an amazing array of unique, locally made items. The bustling bazaar along both sides of the pedestrian mall in one of the city’s oldest shopping precincts has earned a reputation for striking original designs in jewelry, ceramics, home décor and more. Along with the fine crafts on offer, the welcoming cafes and fresh-juice stands, you’ll also find street theater, musicians and palm readers. You can even get future foretold by a readers of the coffee grounds that sink to the bottom of a cup of Turkish brew. It’s a treasure trove of trinkets that can transform life into one big smile!

Tuesdays and Fridays, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Located on Nahalat Binyamin Street, starting from Allenby.

Creative Artists Fair

A twice-weekly happening that gathers together artists and craftspeople to sell their unique works, along the city’s premiere shopping street, Dizengoff. The bazaar features works in wood, glass, ceramics, metal, as well as jewelry, painting, sculpture and illuminated blessings, New Age items and crafts of all kinds, plus imported works. Romantics will be happy to browse among the second – (third –and fourth-) hand clothing, including some finds from Sixties. The prices are reasonable, and so are the hours.

Mondays from noon until 8 p.m. and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Located on Dizwngoff Street between Dizengoff Circle and Frishman Street

Antiques and Secondhand items fair

A wonderful alternative for those who have done the flea Market and are looking for bargains in the center of the city. This quality antiques fair, featuring about 100 different vendors, offers private collections of rare items in the fields of Judaica, old photographs, original and reproduced paintings and drawings, antique tools and musical instruments, rare books, household items, toys, vintage clothing, props for theater and film productions and more. Don’t miss this mobile museum!

Tuesdays from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Located at Dizengoff Circle.

For more information, please visit Tel Aviv’s Web site Here.

By Ionb | Also posted in Markets, Shopping | Comments (0)

Night Life In Tel Aviv

October 2, 2007 – 12:43 am

An Incredibly vibrant nightlife scene has a lot to do with Tel Aviv’s Reputation as the city that never sleep. Forget everything you’ve heard - the legend of Tel Aviv’s nightlife is only a sneak preview of the real thing. An Entertainment superpower with dozens of pubs, bars, music and dance clubs that roar until sunrise. Tel Aviv is a magnet for clubbers and merrymakers from all over the country. The city’s nightlife scene provides a crossing array of choices to suit almost any taste of desire.

Tel Aviv is all about clubs. You can choose between the British DJ Sinden or the Dutch DG Armin Van Buuren, And of course toss of the names of some local DeeJays that have made it big internationally, Like Infected Mushroom, The Flash Brothers, Offer Nissim, Skazi and many more.

They spin old school house, Chill-Out, Deep House, Funky House and Rip Trance. This wide range has no real unifying line - of the country, anything goes. Trendsetters among the clubs include Dado, The Breakfast Club, Maxim and Barzilai. The big venues, with crowded lines of entry-seekers sporting minis, tattoos and lots of muscles mainly of the weekends (Which, by the way, start on Thursday night a big way) include HaOman 17, Dome and Vox.

All of which are noted for their state-of-the-art sound, lighting and video systems. Chill-out rooms with comfy sofas and excellent kitchens. Musical diversity and the desire to improve service have given rise to a new phenomenon-bar with live DJs. True, these are small places, nothing like the floor space of Haoman 17, for instance, but they are competing to offer something extra, not just another DVD. If you don’t invest in your place, you don’t exist - a Tel Aviv law of survival that proves itself night after night. Thus, bars become architectural creations worth taking a look at over the rim of your glass.

There are pick-up bars such as Blaumilch for the yuppie set, and murkier Venuses like Abraxas for those whose think they’re in the know, It doesn’t matter about what. And there are warmer scenes like Madome, with its white walls in on Old Tel Aviv Building. Dance-Bars, with superb sound systems and dance floors, are great for groups of friends ? Some good ones are a place from the movies, the country’s only dance-bar catering to the religiously Observant, and the popular Weinstock.

Jazz rhythms dominate at Mike’s Place on the promenade, offering sea breezes along with nightly jam sessions. And then there’s the Bar-Restaurant scene, mostly centered in the Rothschild Boulevard area. Some good choices are Ninotchka, Featuring Georgian cuisine, Brown, serving tortillas and some of the best Burgers in town, And Avita, favored by the gay community. Pubs, many of which are Irish-Themed like Molly Bloom’s, with its own-in-house mini-brewery, has a decidedly European flavor. Some cafes keep the decibel-level-and the lights law, to become etched forever in your romantic memory.

These include Tazza d’Oro, on the fringes of Neve Tzedek, with a charming European atmosphere, And Bistro Central, which overlooks Rothschild Boulevard from the terrace of a gorgeous Electric-Style building. You can find a sea view at Badolina, a kosher Cafe in the Tel Aviv Port, or a romantic corner in a beautifully Candlelit Nana, in Neve Tzedek. Sweet Sins, in the downtown area, will tempt you with yummy cakes and pastries baked on the premises, While at Cafe Basel, in the city’s upscale north, you can catch all of fashionable Tel Aviv parade by.
We’ll take a double espresso with hot milk, please.

For more information, please visit your local site in the following links:

USA ? Visit-Tlv.co.il

Uk - Visit-Tlv.co.il

Germany - Visit-Tlv.co.il

By Alon | Comments (0)

YouTube Contest! Want To Have Your Video Shown During NY Knicks V Maccabi Tel-Aviv Game?

October 1, 2007 – 2:52 am

The Israeli Consulate in NY has teamed up with the AIFL to create a YouTube contest to garner user generated videos about Israel. The winning videos will have a chance to be played on the ?big screens? October 11 at Madison Square Garden during the upcoming NY Knicks Maccabi Tel Aviv exhibition basketball game to benefit Migdal Ohr, Israel?s largest and most highly acclaimed youth village. At the game, the audience will be asked to select their favorite video whose creator will be awarded by the America Israel Friendship League with a round trip flight from Israel to NY or NY to Israel.

Israel?s Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv faces off against the Knicks October 11th in an exhibition game at Madison Square Garden to benefit Migdal Ohr. Maccabi became the first international team to win on North American soil in 2005 when they defeated the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre.

The YouTube contest is open to participants throughout the world and comes to end September 30th. Participants are asked to submit 30 second videos to YouTube about ?Israeli Sites & Faces? and comment with a link to your video here on this post at the bottom of this page.

The videos should exhibit the following qualities:

? Originality
? Creativity;
? Quality of the video;
? Aesthetic quality;
? Sound Quality;
? Individual/Group Initiative;
? Positive Messaging;
? Positive Images;
? Conformity with the theme selected;

For more information, please visit ?isRealli?, the Israeli Consulate in New York City blog.

By Alon | Also posted in Israel 2.0, Sport | Comments (0)

Israeli Culinary

September 30, 2007 – 7:42 am

A Delicious Melting Pot

If Israel is a culinary superpower, Tel Aviv is its Capital. Between the falafel stands and the gourmet restaurants that earn multiple forks in the Gault ? Millau guide ? not to mention a wide spectrum of Chinese, Italian, seafood and meat restaurants ? a unique culinary culture has blossomed, unmatched by any other food mecca.

“Jewish” Food

There are restaurants, that is, with an Eastern European flavor, serving kugel, cholent and gefilte fish with lots of chrain. At Shaked, Keton and Mul Eden in central Tel Aviv, they’ll be happy to bring you some chopped liver, too.

Arab food

And what’s the difference between a Middle Eastern restaurant and an Arab one? Good question. The menu of a typical Israel Middle Eastern place focuses on hummus, fresh vegetable salad and grilled meats, while Arab restaurants generally add to that a variety of stuffed vegetables and bigger selection of salads.

The Arab restaurants in Jaffa, like the well-known Raouf & Atina, also serve fish and fish and seafood. The service in both the Middle Eastern restaurant and the Arab restaurant is quick and efficient, and prices are very reasonable.

North African food

A wide swathe of the Israeli population hails from North Africa, whose cuisine features couscous, hraimeh, matbuha, shakshuka and stuff vegetables. At both Asraf and Giuliani in central Tel Aviv, and Dr. Shakshouka in Jaffa, you can get truly authentic North African dishes. If this cooking style made a big impact on French cuisine, it’s no wonder that we find it so exciting.

Persian food

The Persian specialties at Keshet in the old centrel bus station area and Nayef on Zebulun Street include authentic treats such as gondi, sevzi, leppe, and shefteh.

You’ll also want to savor a stew of vegetables and meat with Persian lemon, or maash, a soup combining pomegranate, beets, vegetables and rice.

Gourmet

Top restaurants in the Israeli genre feature lots of super ? fresh locally grown vegetables. The chefs create superb seasonal dishes based on highest quality ingredients from the market, such as okra, Jerusalem artichokes, green beans, ful and leeks, using French techniques with local touches (that is, Arab, Middle Eastern and Balkan). This is the custom at Carmela baNachala ( a sister restaurant to the famous Uri Burri in Acre), at inventive chef Nir Zook’s Cordelia in Jaffa, at Rafael’s under wonder-chef Rafi Cohen, at the breathtaking Messa, at Tahel which adds a Spanish flavor to all this, and at the prestigious seafood restaurant Moul Yam. All of these places are renowned not only for their innovative and exacting chefs, but also for their outstanding dacor and professional service, with an Israeli touch.

By Ionb | Comments (2)

Tel Aviv Pictures - The Most Beautiful Neighborhood In Tel-Aviv!

September 25, 2007 – 2:41 am

The Neve Tzedek neighborhood of Tel Aviv was the first Jewish neighborhood to be built outside of Jaffa at the beginning of 1887, 22 years before the establishment of the City of Tel Aviv. With the passing of the years, Neve Tzedek has become a center of taste, culture and lifestyle and a desirable area to live in. Many intellectuals and artists chose to dwell and to create here.

Neve Tzedek is a neighborhood in south-west Tel Aviv. It was the first Jewish neighborhood to be built outside the walls of the ancient port of Jaffa. For years, the neighborhood prospered as Tel Aviv, the first modern Hebrew city, grew up around it. Years of neglect and disrepair followed, but today Neve Tzedek has become one of Tel Aviv’s latest fashionable districts.

Neve Tzedek was established in 1887, 22 years before the 1909 founding of the City of Tel Aviv, by a group of Jewish families seeking a more peaceful life outside of the Jaffa’s teeming streets. Other neighborhoods sprung up around Neve Tzedek, which were incorporated into the contemporary boundaries of the neighborhood.

The residents constructed mostly colorful, short buildings along narrow streets. Residents’ homes featured many contemporary luxuries like private bathrooms and kitchens.

At the beginning of the 1900s, many artists and writers made Neve Tzedek their residence. Most notably, Nobel prize laureate Shmuel Yosef Agnon, as well as Hebrew artist Nahum Gutman, used Neve Tzedek as both a home and a sanctuary for art.

As time went on, its buildings abandoned or neglected, fell into disrepair. By the 1960s, city officials deemed Neve Tzedek incompatible with bustling Tel Aviv. However, their plan to demolish the historic neighborhood to make way for high rise structures was ultimately cancelled as many Neve Tzedek buildings were placed on preservation lists. The old, worn-out neighborhood became a patch of the pastoral amidst the greater urban center.

But by the end of the 1980s, efforts began to renovate and preserve Neve Tzedek’s century-old structures. New establishments were housed in old buildings, most notably to the Suzanne Dalal Dance and Theater Center and the Nahum Gutman Museum, located in the artist’s home.

The well-needed gentrification led to Neve Tzedek’s rebirth as a fashionable and popular residence for Tel Avivians. Its main streets became lined once again with artists’ studios, alongside trendy cafés and bars. The Tel Aviv Subway, which is expected to pass near Neve Tzedek, will make the neighborhood even more accessible for visitors and residents alike.

A tour of the narrow lanes and winding streets of the neighborhood is a fabulous experience. The area has been renovated and each corner is a gem. Amongst others, you can find here the house of the Hebrew Nobel Literature prizewinning author, Shai Agnon, who lived here from 1909 to 1912. At the corner of Pines and Lilienblum Streets is a building colored pink and yellow, which served as the first cinema in Tel Aviv. This is the “Eden” cinema, which began in 1914 by screening the silent film, “The Last Days of Pompei”.

One of the most interesting spots in Neve Tzedek is the Suzanne Dellal center, which was built in 1908 as a girls’ school and became one of the most important of Tel Aviv’s theatrical and cultural centers. Also in the neighborhood - the Gutman Museum, the home of the artist Nachum Gutman, displaying his works, photographs and video films, and that of the Rokach family, pioneers of the area, which has become a museum and memorial, showing a variety of objects, as well as an exhibition of the artist, Leah Majero-Mintz, who renovated the house.

Above the neighborhood is the Shalom Tower, one of the high buildings of Tel Aviv, and its observation balcony, from which there is a fine view of Neve Tzedek, the hill of Jaffa and the Mediterranean Sea.

For more information About Tel Aviv, please visit your local site in the following links:

USA: http://www.visit-tlv.co.il/usa/minisite5.html?utm_source=web2

UK And Europe: http://www.visit-tlv.co.il/eng.html?utm_source=web2&utm_medium=link

German Language: http://www.visit-tlv.co.il/ger/ger.html?utm_source=web2&utm_medium=link