Israel & Jordan 2023: Walking Tour of Tel Aviv
We left Carmel Market through the back way, the same way we came in. We chose this because we knew that if we walked straight on this road we will hit the beach. Once we're on the beach, we just have to follow the boardwalk back to the hotel. No chance of getting lost, that I knew for sure.
Once we reached the end of the road, we saw a minaret, and we knew that there's a mosque here that probably we could see. However, the mosque is gated, and although the gate is open we could see that there was something going on inside. It would be intrusive of us to go in.
Across the street from the mosque is Sir Charles Clore Park with plenty of grassy areas and the water is just there. We walked a bit and took photos. If we wanted we could go left and walk straight to old Jaffa, which is an ancient port and mentioned in the Bible. We chose to go right, back to the hotel.
Jaffa in the distance.
The boardwalk I believe stretches 10 km and is popular with bikers, walkers and segway riders.
We also passed this on the walk from the market to the boardwalk.
We made friends with the locals (feeding cat and birds).
A brief rest in the hotel around mid-day and out we went again and this time unbeknownst to me my husband has signed us up for a walking tour and the meeting spot was a couple of blocks away from the hotel on the same street.
Have you heard of Guru Walk? Have you done a Guru walk? If your answer is no, please try it. It's outstanding. The payment is based on your satisfaction, so no set fee for the guide. The fee ranges from 10-50, customer's discretion.
We arrived at the meeting spot way too early so we had time to kill. The spot was outside of the Old Cemetery, aka Trumpeldor Cemetery - a historic cemetery that covers 10.6 acres and contains approximately 5,000 graves. In the past, I've always been scared of cemeteries, but not anymore. Now I find them peaceful, intriguing and fascinating.
The cemetery is not something like I've ever been before. The husband and I just walked around and since the writings on the graves were in Hebrew, we knew nothing, and learned nothing.
We met our guide Ram, who looked like a professor. I liked him instantly. Our walking group was a small one comprising of two German ladies, a Brazilian jovem (young lady) and us. And the walking tour began at (you guessed it!) the cemetery.
Ram (tour guide) pointed out tombs of prominent personalities buried here, including the fathers of Israel and a prominent soccer player who also was a poet and a singer during his lifetime. The soccer player had a visitor when we were there; you could tell she was a big fan because she was posing by the tomb.
One notable thing about this cemetery is that when someone visits the tomb, the visitor will leave a piece of stone, small rock on the tomb. You can easily see which one didn't get any visitors, sad. The soccer player/poet/singer had quite a few visitors as evidenced by the number of stones on his tomb along with flowers.
From the graveyard we walked to Bialik Square. In Bialik Square there were a lot of cats. Honestly, I was more into watching the cats (and trying to catch their attention) than listening to what Ram was saying about the building that was being remodeled and the Bialik house across from it. The house belonged to Hayim Nahman Bialik, considered as Israel's national poet. I did not photograph the house by the way, but you can easily Google it.
From Bialik Square we walked to Meir Park or Garden where we watched a couple of ladies feeing the pigeons by the fountain in the middle of the park.
Again I was not listening to my guide and was only able to capture this image from our visit to the park.
We left the park and walked towards the Bauhaus Center and stopped for coffee and a washroom break.
Afterwards we sauntered to Masaryk Square where we saw the Yellow Duck (by Dudu Geva) installation, which is the mascot of the city.
It was also in Masaryk Square where I met a handsome orange kitty. He's rugged, looked like he's a gangsta kitty. I offered hard boiled egg (I took from the breakfast buffet) and he ate the yolk with gusto but left the white part.
Next, we strolled towards Rabin Square, which was getting some work done as the square/park area was fenced off. The square was previously called Kings of Israel Square but was renamed Rabin Square in 1995 after the assasination of Yitzhak Rabin, which occured here in 1995.
City Hall
There was a video screen that showed the assasination (?) and life (?) of Rabin.
The memorial where the assasination took place is comprised of broken rocks in the ground representing the "earthquake" created in the Israeli consience.
We posed by the graffiti wall that was preserved. On the upper corner it says: Here at this place Yitzhak Rabin Prime Minister & Minister of Defence was murdered in the struggle for Peace. 4-11 1995.
This is where the tour ended. But before we parted ways, we asked our guide where to get the best sabich. A sabich is a pita sandwich stuffed with fried eggplant, hard-boiled egg, hummus, tahini sauce, and Israeli salad and pickles. Luckily we were near Frishman Street. He said the Frishman Sabich is the place to get this local delicacy.
Frishman Street is the same street we needed to take to go back to the hotel. If we walked straight to the end, we will reach the beach and the boardwalk and once there I know to just follow the boardwalk back to the hotel.
The sabich place was easy to find. It's a very small place, a real hole-in-the-wall. Easy to miss it if you're specifically not looking for it. There was a single guy manning the store. He hardly spoke any English but getting our order filled was no problem because the condiments or sides are all laid out behind the glass cabinet and you just point. The store's signage is in Hebrew. In fact we had gone to the store next door thinking that was it, since it had more customers but we were directed next door. Also across the street is a bigger, more upscale shop that also sold sabich and more. Later through the help of Google I found out that the place Ram recommended was the fancy store and not this one!
Options, options, options.
Making our sabich.
Wanting to explore different neighborhoods, we plugged the route on the phone and left Frishman Street. Again, totally safe walking in Tel Aviv.
Arrived in the hotel in time to capture this amazing sunset from our window.
Veggie-filled sabich for dinner eaten hurriedly before the Meet and Greet with the tour group and the tour manager.
What a full day of exploring. This is why we always wanted to arrive a day or two ahead of time to get the feel of the city and see the sights that are not in the tour itinerary.
Across the street from the mosque is Sir Charles Clore Park with plenty of grassy areas and the water is just there. We walked a bit and took photos. If we wanted we could go left and walk straight to old Jaffa, which is an ancient port and mentioned in the Bible. We chose to go right, back to the hotel.
Jaffa in the distance.
The boardwalk I believe stretches 10 km and is popular with bikers, walkers and segway riders.
We also passed this on the walk from the market to the boardwalk.
We made friends with the locals (feeding cat and birds).
A brief rest in the hotel around mid-day and out we went again and this time unbeknownst to me my husband has signed us up for a walking tour and the meeting spot was a couple of blocks away from the hotel on the same street.
Have you heard of Guru Walk? Have you done a Guru walk? If your answer is no, please try it. It's outstanding. The payment is based on your satisfaction, so no set fee for the guide. The fee ranges from 10-50, customer's discretion.
We arrived at the meeting spot way too early so we had time to kill. The spot was outside of the Old Cemetery, aka Trumpeldor Cemetery - a historic cemetery that covers 10.6 acres and contains approximately 5,000 graves. In the past, I've always been scared of cemeteries, but not anymore. Now I find them peaceful, intriguing and fascinating.
The cemetery is not something like I've ever been before. The husband and I just walked around and since the writings on the graves were in Hebrew, we knew nothing, and learned nothing.
We met our guide Ram, who looked like a professor. I liked him instantly. Our walking group was a small one comprising of two German ladies, a Brazilian jovem (young lady) and us. And the walking tour began at (you guessed it!) the cemetery.
Ram (tour guide) pointed out tombs of prominent personalities buried here, including the fathers of Israel and a prominent soccer player who also was a poet and a singer during his lifetime. The soccer player had a visitor when we were there; you could tell she was a big fan because she was posing by the tomb.
One notable thing about this cemetery is that when someone visits the tomb, the visitor will leave a piece of stone, small rock on the tomb. You can easily see which one didn't get any visitors, sad. The soccer player/poet/singer had quite a few visitors as evidenced by the number of stones on his tomb along with flowers.
From the graveyard we walked to Bialik Square. In Bialik Square there were a lot of cats. Honestly, I was more into watching the cats (and trying to catch their attention) than listening to what Ram was saying about the building that was being remodeled and the Bialik house across from it. The house belonged to Hayim Nahman Bialik, considered as Israel's national poet. I did not photograph the house by the way, but you can easily Google it.
From Bialik Square we walked to Meir Park or Garden where we watched a couple of ladies feeing the pigeons by the fountain in the middle of the park.
Again I was not listening to my guide and was only able to capture this image from our visit to the park.
We left the park and walked towards the Bauhaus Center and stopped for coffee and a washroom break.
Afterwards we sauntered to Masaryk Square where we saw the Yellow Duck (by Dudu Geva) installation, which is the mascot of the city.
It was also in Masaryk Square where I met a handsome orange kitty. He's rugged, looked like he's a gangsta kitty. I offered hard boiled egg (I took from the breakfast buffet) and he ate the yolk with gusto but left the white part.
Next, we strolled towards Rabin Square, which was getting some work done as the square/park area was fenced off. The square was previously called Kings of Israel Square but was renamed Rabin Square in 1995 after the assasination of Yitzhak Rabin, which occured here in 1995.
City Hall
There was a video screen that showed the assasination (?) and life (?) of Rabin.
The memorial where the assasination took place is comprised of broken rocks in the ground representing the "earthquake" created in the Israeli consience.
We posed by the graffiti wall that was preserved. On the upper corner it says: Here at this place Yitzhak Rabin Prime Minister & Minister of Defence was murdered in the struggle for Peace. 4-11 1995.
This is where the tour ended. But before we parted ways, we asked our guide where to get the best sabich. A sabich is a pita sandwich stuffed with fried eggplant, hard-boiled egg, hummus, tahini sauce, and Israeli salad and pickles. Luckily we were near Frishman Street. He said the Frishman Sabich is the place to get this local delicacy.
Frishman Street is the same street we needed to take to go back to the hotel. If we walked straight to the end, we will reach the beach and the boardwalk and once there I know to just follow the boardwalk back to the hotel.
The sabich place was easy to find. It's a very small place, a real hole-in-the-wall. Easy to miss it if you're specifically not looking for it. There was a single guy manning the store. He hardly spoke any English but getting our order filled was no problem because the condiments or sides are all laid out behind the glass cabinet and you just point. The store's signage is in Hebrew. In fact we had gone to the store next door thinking that was it, since it had more customers but we were directed next door. Also across the street is a bigger, more upscale shop that also sold sabich and more. Later through the help of Google I found out that the place Ram recommended was the fancy store and not this one!
Options, options, options.
Making our sabich.
Wanting to explore different neighborhoods, we plugged the route on the phone and left Frishman Street. Again, totally safe walking in Tel Aviv.
Arrived in the hotel in time to capture this amazing sunset from our window.
Veggie-filled sabich for dinner eaten hurriedly before the Meet and Greet with the tour group and the tour manager.
What a full day of exploring. This is why we always wanted to arrive a day or two ahead of time to get the feel of the city and see the sights that are not in the tour itinerary.
When I went to Israel we were on a tour of sites familiar to readers of the New Testament. Tel Aviv wasn't on the itinerary with the exception of the airport. It looks like a fascinating city. Thank you for sharing your photos at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2023/09/remembering-attack-on-our-nation.html
ReplyDeleteI grew up in a Muslim country, but never once stepped inside a mosque until I went to Istanbul. Lovely architecture!
ReplyDeleteI've never been to Israel but I like middle-eastern food. Last year, we found a Jewish deli in Sunrise (near Fort Lauderdale) that was good and pretty authentic (from what we could tell looking at their customers).
Enjoyed your trip post. Amazing pics.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting and engaging narrative with informative photos. I did not know about the yellow duck.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a wonderful city to explore. Beautiful sky shots!
ReplyDeleteInteresting tour of an area I know very little about. It is smart to do the trip partly on your own and partly with the tour group.
ReplyDeleteAnother example of where a guide can provide a little framework about what is there. I would be lost in the cemetery without somebody telling me what is going on.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos of your outing.
This is a fabulous post showcasing many good photography skills.
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking us along! Enjoyed it!
ReplyDelete