Nave Tsedek: Shavazi street & Suzan dalal center - more pictures

The first Jewish neighborhood outside of Jaffa’s walls, today Neve Tzedek, which translated means Oasis of Justice, really lives up to its legend as a peaceful haven and retreat from the hubbub of Tel Aviv. Many locals, as well as tourists, happily spend time wandering the attractive narrow streets, admiring the restored buildings, visiting the attractions and enjoying a bite or two in the cute Neve Tzedek restaurants and cafes.

Certainly a place to stroll around on a lazy afternoon; just make sure to bring your camera!

Shavazi St. in Nane Tsedek Tel Aviv

Suzan dalal area

Suzana coffee resturant

Skater boys are sitting in Tel Aviv Avenue

Skater boys are sitting in Tel Aviv Avenue

The old train station complex and Nane Tsedek

The historic Tel Aviv-Jaffa train station, located between hip Neve Tzedek and the Mediterranean Sea, has recently been transformed into a new entertainment and leisure center after a 10-year restoration project. The epicenter for commerce in the city from 1892 to 1948, the newly renovated 49-acre Tachana entertainment complex includes more than 20 historic buildings which will serve as event spaces–from the old train station and freight terminal to the 18th-century Arab-style Red House and German Templar Wielands’ family home. Two train carriages located on the old tracks around the complex will house an exhibition of photography of the restoration project.

Old train station area

Old train station area

The transformation of this train station is a monumental and exciting event that will provide Tel Aviv with a dynamic new entertainment complex,” says Arie Sommer, Israel Commissioner for Tourism, North and South America. “It will house a multitude of exhibitions, festivals and outdoor markets for travelers arriving in Israel this summer.”
The Tachana entertainment complex will feature a variety of restaurants, cafes and bars, in addition to several stores, including a bookstore-café devoted to art and design literature, shops featuring young Israeli and international designers, a museum and a lifestyle space for fashion and design exhibitions.
In addition, the complex will include a children’s activity center that will host weekly music concerts, an arts and crafts fair on Thursday evenings and an organic farmer’s market on Friday mornings. Tours of the Bauhaus district of Tel Aviv will also leave from the Tachana every day.

Suzan Dalal

Walking in the Tel Aviv Port at saturday suny day

The first port of Israel was opened at 1936 and now is a flourishing hang out area with many new restaurants, bars and shops all accessible by a 14000 square meters of a wooden deck that its shape was inspired by the Tel Aviv sand dunes.

The Tel Aviv port was shut down in the 60's as an active sea port, and was awaken in the 80's as a nightlife and water sports center. Nowadays it is the busiest nightlife area of the city. Some of its bars and clubs are certainly worth a visit even just to get a glance of the crowded mingling scene of Tel Aviv's nightlife.

The biggest club in the Tel Aviv port area is TLV. It used to be one of the city's nightlife scene leaders for years, but has no fixed schedule anymore. TLV still holds parties every once in a while, playing mostly house and trance music, so if you consider yourself a clubber, you might want to check if there's a party there during your stay. The club itself is equipped with a state of the art sound and lighting systems, and has a sea front section with cool vibes. Port Hotel, Opended recently, is ideally located just steps away from the Port Zone, at the corner of Ha Yaarkon and Yirmeyahu Streets.

Whisky-a-go go, one of the hottest bars in Tel Aviv, is just nearby. This is where Israel's famous actors, models, athletes and celebrities come to eat, drink and mingle. Whisky-a-go go is a mixture of a lounge, a dance bar and a dining place. After midnight, the atmosphere there changes, while trendy DJs lift up the energy level.

Another trendy place is Shalvata (which means peace or tranquility), named after a famous mental institution in Israel. Shalvata Offers a relaxed atmosphere, good music and superior view of the Mediterranean, accompanied by friendly service, though it tends to get very crowded on summer weekends and holidays. Erlich is another Mega-bar at the Tel Aviv port which is friendly, well designed and usually quite packed. It is built around a round bar that occupies most of the space, a design that makes it a good place to meet people and mingle.

There are many other bars in the Tel Aviv port and there's always enough parking. You can also take a bus all the way to the north end of Dizengoff and just follow the crowd, on their way for another night of drinking and dancing till dawn.

Moshe Aviv tower at night in Ramat Gan

Moshe Aviv tower at night in Ramat Gan

Graffiti in Tel Aviv

 

 

 

Hoopoes in Tel Aviv

The Hoopoes are a small Old World family of two or three species (see below) of similar birds. All have long, thin, and decurved bills; broad round wings; square tails crossed by a wide white band, and long erectile crests. This Madagascar Hoopoe (left) has its crest erected. All species also have dramatic black and white wing patterns (the patterns vary between the species) that show in flight or, as below (same bird as upper left), when the bird is preening. Behaviorally, they remind me (a New World resident) of American flickers. Both hoopoes and flickers appear superficial to be birds of the trees (and both nest in tree cavities), but each spend most of their foraging time on the ground, probing the leaf-litter. Hoopoes are exotic in appearance, but they are open-country birds -- birds of savanna and broken woodlands -- and do not occur in dense jungle (e.g., absent from rain forests of the Congo basin).