Travel in Tel Aviv - Israel - Culture - WorldTravelGate.net®-

TEL AVIV is a city with chutzpah – a loud, gesticulating expression of urban Jewish culture, straight talking, none too couth, and nothing if not brash. Its streets teem with Jews of every conceivable origin, and its restaurants serve the food that they brought with them from around the globe. Few people like Tel Aviv when they first arrive, but it’s a city that grows on you. What it lacks in finesse, it makes up for in sass, giving the finger to the parochialism of the rest of Israel, particularly Jerusalem. While others sit around on Fridays lighting candles, Tel Avivians head for the beach, the bar or the movies, happy to drink and dance all night, even (in fact especially) on the Sabbath. If the city seems on the surface less sophisticated than the capitals of Europe, it is often more streetwise, less pretentious, and certainly just as cultured. It is also unmistakably Mediterranean, with its pavement cafés and sun worshippers though, being only a century old, it lacks the architectural grandeur of its more venerable Mediterranean counterparts. A modern city, built from scratch in the twentieth century, Tel Aviv is not exactly teeming with sights, but attached to the city’s southern end, and now really a part of it, is the ancient walled port of Jaffa. Though thoroughly sanitized nowadays for the benefit of tourists, it is virtually the only part of town with a history that predates the twentieth century and still well worth taking the time to explore.

Proud residents call it the city that never stops, and if you don't believe them, just come around at 4 am, when you may find yourself waiting in line for a table at a café or stuck in a traffic jam on Hayarkon Street. True, there are no buses at that hour, but that doesn't stop the young and the restless of surrounding towns from finding their way to the country's throbbing heart.

Next to the magical holy city of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv seems more like the city of sin. Your first reaction to it may be negative--to the newcomer it appears muggy, congested, and ill planned, and scarred with boxy, concrete buildings. But what it lacks in grandeur, Tel Aviv makes up for in vitality. One-third of Israel's population--a number approaching 2 million--lives in this 138-square-kilometer (55-square-mile) metropolis. Half a million cars enter and leave the city every day. Residents of other towns swell the population further on weekends, when they make Tel Aviv their playground. The city is Israel's centre of commerce and culture, and it bustles with restaurants, art galleries, museums, and beaches.

Having risen from empty sand dunes less than a century ago, Tel Aviv could never hope for the ancient beauty of Israel's capital. Still, the city's southern border, the port of Jaffa, is as old as they come: Jonah set sail from here for what turned out to be his journey to the belly of a whale. The cedars of Lebanon that were used to build Solomon's Temple arrived in Jaffa before being transported to Jerusalem. According to archaeologists, Jaffa was founded in the Middle Canaanite period, around 1600 B.C. For the next thousand years one ancient people dominated it after another: Egyptians, Philistines, Israelites, Phoenicians, and Greeks. After being taken by Crusaders twice, in the 11th and 12th centuries, Jaffa was recaptured by the Muslims and remained largely under Arab control until the 20th century. During much of this time it was abandoned; it did not regain its importance as a port until the 19th century.

In the second half of the 19th century, Jewish pioneers began emigrating here from other parts of the world, and their numbers strained the capacity of the small port. The resulting city was named Tel Aviv in 1909; Arab riots in Jaffa in the 1920s then drove more Jews to Ahuzat Bayit, spurring further growth. Immigrants from Europe, mostly Poland, and a decade joined these Jews later by an influx of German Jews fleeing the Nazis. These new, urban arrivals--unlike the pioneers from earlier immigrant waves--brought with them an appreciation for the arts and a passion for the sidewalk cafés that began to sprout like mushrooms in this city. It was they who made the strongest social and cultural impact on Tel Aviv.

The Tel Aviv of today is already vastly different from the Tel Aviv of 50 years ago. Although northern Tel Aviv has traditionally been the city's flashy, affluent half, it's the oft-neglected south that gets attention now. Here, gentrification projects in many neighbourhoods are changing the area's face; each week the scaffolding rises on another building, and new restaurants and shops appear. Tel Aviv has come a long way in its short life; look around and try to imagine the scene just 90 years ago, when this teeming metropolis was nothing but sand.

FLEAMARKET

Start by treating yourself to a fresh-from-the-oven pita at the Aboulafia Bakery, walk up the street, and turn left. You will have no doubt that you are approaching the Jaffa Flea Market and soon find yourself at a row of shops primarily featuring oriental rugs and, more likely than not, at least one cluster of people huddled over a backgammon board shesh-besh, from the Persian and the origin of the game. The market extends along this street and those going off to the left. A series of left turns will eventually bring you back to Yefet St.

The entire area is colourful, fun, and provides an interesting glimpse at some of the segments which make up Israeli society, from recent immigrants selling used household goods arrayed on the pavements to shop owners offering a wide array of merchandise, both old and new. There are some excellent-quality items to be found here, such as the rugs, and no small amount of junk. It is a place for bargaining over prices, so knowing the psychology of it is helpful. Have no doubt but that the sellers have a keen appreciation of the value and quality of their inventories. If the shopper is knowledgeable, though, there are some good buys to be had (such as in rugs and some Judaica collectibles).

A quick lesson in bargaining, Middle-Eastern style: The seller will throw out a price, thereby establishing a point of reference. Even if you think it's reasonable, you refuse. He then asks what you're willing to pay.

Hmmmm .... "If he said 100 shekels, I can't very well insult him and say 30." But, you can -- and should, if not even a lower figure. Or, you might shrug and say you're not really all that interested -- certainly not for anything higher than x amount. Shrug again and start walking away. If he yells after you with another offer, consider it; either accept or make a counter-offer. Eventually, if he doesn't yell after you, you'll know your offer is under the threshold he considers realistic.

Even if you don't buy a thing in the entire market area, it's great fun to poke around. Those who are not concerned about packing bulky items will find some beautiful copperware, here. Note that there are two arcades, which are worth seeking out, but take note of the fact that a lot of the items within them (clothing, earrings, and the like) are not Israeli, but imported from India and the Far East.

The morning, particularly in the early part of the week, is the best time to visit for serious bargain hunting. Many of the vendors have a superstition about making the first sale of the day or week to get them off to a good start, referring to it by the Arabic word siftakh. Like so many other places, it's not the deal you made, but the deal you think you made. So, some vendors will use the siftakh concept to make you feel their loss is your gain. Still, the flea market is more about fun than caution and well worth the visit.