Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv has been our home for the past two weeks. Though it's the second largest city in Israel, it's population is only about 400,000 people. The city does feel expansive, but without the bustle one can encounter in New York or Paris. Our guest house/hostel is located in Jaffa, which is effectively southern Tel Aviv. Historically, Jaffa was an important sea port (it claims to be the oldest working port in the world - it's where Jonas embarked on his epic voyage that ended up in a whale!), and more recently was an Arab city among Jewish ones. It definitely does have a very middle-eastern feel to it, with mosques singing beautiful prayers at various times of day, an overwhelming market that could be from Casablanca, and men hanging out smoking hookahs.

something for everyone

The old town was beautifully renovated in the late '50s and is now mainly a tourist attraction with small windy streets boasting many galleries and boutiques.

Old Jaffa

Tel Aviv itself is only 100 years old (founded in 1909) and is a mix of ultra modern architecture and the bauhaus style of the 1930's. These older buildings have earned Tel Aviv a listing as a UNESCO World Heritage Site; The Bauhaus style, based on functionality rather than ornamentation, originated in Germany and made its way to Tel Aviv before WWII. Examples of this style of architecture are hard to find in Europe because of the damage done during the war, which is why it is so rare to find them all here. Personally, I prefer the more imaginative modern towers...

renovated Bauhaus style architecture

Three towers in three primary shapes, representing the three monotheistic religions of the region

Though our first week here was quite busy because of the competition, the past few days have been calmer and we have been able to explore Tel Aviv more. There seem to be many small museums dedicated to famous artists or intellectuals and several about war. We decided that culture was our main point of interest and took a morning to visit the Eretz Israel Museum in northern Tel Aviv. It was a very interesting mix of inside and outside exhibits all focused on the history of the Jewish peoples from pre-history to present day, with archeological excavations, expositions of artwork and Judaica, and even working models of ancient olive-presses.

olive press

We were particularly impressed by the sand castle exposition created by graduates of the World Sand Sculpting Academy based in the Netherlands (who knew!).

Yesterday, the competition organized a (very long and hot) tour of Tel Aviv in an open air bus (complete with elevator music...) which culminated in a tour of the Bet Hatefutsoth Museum of the Jewish Diaspora, which was fascinating. The tour guide, though pressed for time, was very informative. The museum's goal was to expose the history of the resilience of Jewish culture without having the main focus be on beautiful artifacts, but rather on traditions illustrated by modern sculptures, three-dimentional models, and dioramas.

model of a synagogue in China

Jewish wedding ceremony

Now having visited Jerusalem and a small bit of the West Bank, Tel Aviv does feel like a very open and modern place in comparison. It is certainly a wonderful venue for the competition, particularly because of the proximity to the beach which has provided everyone with a great way to relax during a practice break, even if just for a walk along the promenade.

view of Tel Aviv looking north from Jaffa