The name of the city of Tel Aviv is translated from Hebrew as "Spring Hill". In fact, there are no hills here. Unless the waves in the Mediterranean Sea during a winter storm can be mistaken for small hills. Tel Aviv appeared on world maps in 1909 as a suburb of Jaffa. Now these two cities are united into one settlement.
Many Israelis are advised to start exploring their state from Tel Aviv. There are beautiful embankments, sandy beaches, gentle sea, which is suitable not only for swimming, but also for surfing, many interesting museums, ancient monuments. And just 40 minutes from Tel Aviv is Jerusalem - the heart of the country, a city that every believer dreams of visiting.
The list of things to see in Tel Aviv is quite long. We suggest starting with the main attractions that every tourist should see.
TOP 10 sights of Tel Aviv
Bauhaus houses
Bauhaus houses
Several central quarters of Tel Aviv are called the White City. There are 4 thousand buildings here, built in the Bauhaus style, distinguished by functionality and presentability. These houses were built in the 30s of the last century by Jewish architects who moved to Palestine from Nazi Germany. The White City is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, as there is no such cluster of Bauhaus houses anywhere else in the world.
The most famous and interesting buildings of the White City are:
- house-pagoda, which is located in the Lev Ha-Ir district in the western part of Tel Aviv. The building was designed by the architect Alexander Levy;
- the Polishchuk House with a curved central façade is an office building located on Magen David Square;
- the former cinema "Esther", which has now been converted into a three-star hotel. It is located in Dizengoff Square.
Tel Kasile City
Tel Kasile City
Tel Kasile is an archaeological site in Israel located at the mouth of the Yarkon River, north of today's Tel Aviv. Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a Philistine port that existed for 170 years (approximately 1150-980 BC). During its heyday, it occupied an area of 1.6 hectares. Scientists do not know what this place was called in ancient times. Nowadays, the archaeological area of Tel Kasile is part of the Eretz Yisrael Museum.
Tel Kasile began to be explored in the middle of the 20th century, although back in 1815 the famous English traveler, aristocrat Esther Stanhope suggested that there was once a city in these places.
In the southern part of Tel Kasile, part of a residential area was excavated. The oldest buildings did not have stone foundations. The area consisted of long, straight streets, along which houses were built. The Philistines also had their own temple, the remains of which were also found here.
Yarkon Park
Yarkon Park
Yarkon Park is located on the banks of the river of the same name in the northern part of the city. This is one of the most attractive landmarks in Tel Aviv. On an area of 380 hectares, you can find a poultry yard, the largest water park in Israel, a botanical garden, sports grounds, an artificial reservoir for boating, a mini zoo, which is especially popular with children, and two amphitheaters. There are also architectural objects of great interest here. This is the Turkish fortress Binari-Bashi, dating back to the second half of the 17th century. The fort offers a view of the Rosh HaAyin spring. A pumping station has been built in the eastern part of Binari-Bashi, which provides Jerusalem with drinking water.
Nature lovers will not be disappointed either. The not very clean Yarkon River was chosen by waterfowl, which can be watched for hours. The Rock Garden, which is also located in the park, contains minerals brought from different parts of the country. The tropical garden is famous for its palms and orchids.
Jaffa Old Town
Jaffa Old Town
Where to go in relatively young Tel Aviv for tourists who want to see places mentioned in myths and religious books? Of course, Old Jaffa is the city next to which Tel Aviv was built. After all, it was here that the myth of Perseus and Andromeda took place, Noah began to build his ark, and the Apostle Peter revived the Christian Tabitha. Therefore, it is not surprising that Jaffa, like a magnet, attracts people of art, inspiring them to create masterpieces. Painters, sculptors, jewelers and other creative people have turned the Old City of Jaffa into one great art center for all of Israel.
It is worth visiting unique art galleries here, for example, the Ilana Gur Museum, which displays not only her own works from a variety of materials, but also works of other artists, or the Workshop of the sculptor Frank Meisler, who works with precious metals.
Clock tower
Clock tower
Take time to explore the historical sites that give Old Jaffa its unique flavor. These include the Clock Tower - one of seven similar towers built during the time when Israel was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. The remaining six were erected in Safed, Akko, Nazareth, Haifa, Nablus and Jerusalem (the latter has not survived).
Jaffa Clock Tower stands in the lively Clock Square. it was built in 1900-1903 from limestone with funds. Donated by local residents. With the construction of this and many other Clock Towers throughout the Ottoman Empire, the Turks celebrated the 25th year of the reign of their Sultan. There are two dials on the roof of the tower. The bell rings every half hour. During the renovation carried out in the 1960s, wrought iron bars were installed on the windows of the Clock Tower, depicting scenes from the history of the city.
Hasan Bek Mosque
Hasan Bek Mosque
The second name of the Hasan Bek mosque is Marine, which explains its location: the mosque was built on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Its tall white limestone minaret looks like a lighthouse.
This mosque was built on the border of Jaffa and Tel Aviv in 1916 by order of the Turkish governor Hassan Bek. The construction of this sacred building took place shortly before the British occupied Palestine in 1917. To build the mosque, Hasan Bek hired numerous builders who worked day and night to complete the building as soon as possible. Many workers suffered accidents, and some even died of exhaustion on the job. For the new Jaffa mosque, construction materials were confiscated from the neighboring Jewish quarters of Tel Aviv. Despite the high cost of the project, the construction of the mosque was completed in less than a year. It was named after its creator, Hasan Bek. The mosque is active.
Eretz Israel Museum
Eretz Israel Museum
It is pleasant, after walking through the historical center of Tel Aviv, to go to some museum, where peace and coolness awaits guests. The Eretz Yisrael Museum, founded in 1953, is dedicated to the history and economic achievements of Israel. Interesting is its archaeological exhibition, which contains artifacts from the excavations of the ancient city of Tel Kasila, as well as coins, dishes and products made of ceramics and glass, and much more. A separate room tells about the life of perhaps the most famous Jewish family of the rich and patrons of the arts of the last centuries - the Rothschild barons.
People who collect stamps and are interested in the history of philately will love the local exhibition of envelopes, postcards, stamps, that is, everything that can tell about the development of the postal business in Israel and Tel Aviv.
Tel Aviv Museum of Fine Arts
Tel Aviv Museum of Fine Arts
The Tel Aviv Museum of Fine Arts is home to real treasures that you should definitely see while on vacation in Tel Aviv. The museum, which first opened its doors to visitors in 1932, occupies four buildings. In the new pavilion of the museum, which opened in 1971, in addition to the permanent exhibitions, you can also visit temporary ones.
The collection of the museum consists of 40 thousand exhibits, representing paintings, sculptures, sketches and sketches, photographs, works in the field of design and architecture. Here you can see the canvases of famous European artists: Degas, Klimt, Monet, Chagall, Cezanne, Modigliani, etc. There are also paintings by Israeli painters: Naum Gutman, Anna Tycho and others.
A Sculpture Garden adjoins one of the museum's pavilions.
Church of the Apostle Peter and Righteous Tabitha
Church of the Apostle Peter and Righteous Tabitha
The Orthodox Church of St. Peter and Righteous Tabitha is located on a hill in the center of Jaffa. Near the church, you can see the burial where the righteous Tabitha rests. This place is marked with a chapel. It is interesting that ancient mosaics from the turn of the 5th-6th centuries have been preserved in the tomb.
The Church of the Apostle Peter and Righteous Tabitha was built in 1888-1894 near the inn, where numerous pilgrims from Russia, traveling to Jerusalem, stayed. Members of the royal family were present at the laying of the first stone in the foundation of the church. The temple was built in the Byzantine manner. Its walls were painted by the monks of the Pochaev Lavra. The wall frescoes are dedicated to the patron saint of the temple - Saint Peter.
Great synagogue
Great synagogue
The Great Synagogue in Tel Aviv is not called that for nothing. This is the largest Jewish temple in Israel. It is located at 110 Allenby Street, in the Lev HaIr district, in the western part of the city. The building is built in the shape of a parallelepiped and has a huge dome, in whose drum there are 24 semicircular windows with stained-glass windows. Sunlight into the synagogue also shines through the tall stained glass windows in the galleries reserved for women.
Russian-born artist Yakov Eisenberg, who emigrated to Palestine in 1913, recreated the stained glass windows previously seen in European synagogues destroyed by the Nazis. The forest of concrete columns around the Great Synagogue, which completely transformed its appearance, appeared in the 1960s, when the architect Arie Elhanani oversaw the reconstruction of this building. Its task was to adapt the building in the Byzantine style to the neighboring buildings, built in a more modern manner.
