It is hard to believe that this vivacious, sophisticated Mediterranean city has not yet celebrated its first centenary. Born out of the sands, the modern metropolis of Tel Aviv was founded in 1909, when a small group of Jewish families moved from the overcrowded, insanitary and hostile Arab town of Jaffa to a selected desert spot where the construction of Tel Aviv began. Since then, the city has sprung up beside the Mediterranean coast at a dizzying speed – its first-generation residents are as old as the city itself. Younger generations compare their hometown grandly to New York. The ceaseless
energy and enterprise, the lively avenues, big squares and buzzing nightlife all excuse this exaggerated comparison. However, the noisy, extrovert way of life, the miles of utilitarian modern apartments and the warm humid climate, with temperatures up to of 34°C (94°F) in the summer (when humidity also tends to peak) and 20°C (68°F) in the winter, all place Tel Aviv firmly in its East Mediterranean setting.
The initial impression of many visitors upon arrival is that Tel Aviv is brash and hedonistic. Outlying areas on the approach roads in particular seem tacky and drab; however, those who are willing to explore further cannot fail to be moved by the idealism that has created the largest Jewish city ever to exist. In a short time, Tel Aviv has absorbed tens of thousands of refugees from Europe, Asia, Africa and South America and turned them into free citizens in their own homeland – thousands of new immigrants settle here every year.
In fact, Tel Aviv is named after the Hebrew title of Theodor Herzl’s inspirational Zionist novel Altneuland (Old New Land). The Hebrew ‘Tel Aviv’ combines the ideas of antiquity (tel, an ancient site) and radiant newness (aviv, springtime). Tel Aviv’s astonishing diversity is shown in the array of distinct neighborhoods merging together but also in these extremes of ‘old’ and ‘new’. The elderly relaxing on the beach promenade and chatting in a multitude of languages, next to the younger generation shouting in Hebrew and playing beach sports on the sand; the high culture and the noisy discos; the modern shopping malls and the packed street market.
The sheer dynamism and determination of the place makes Tel Aviv seem vastly bigger than it really is. In fact, the city is smaller in area than Haifa or Jerusalem, but over one-third of Israel’s population live in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. For round-the-clock entertainment and sheer vigour, there is nowhere in Israel like it – the city offers an abundance of bars, restaurants, entertainment and nightlife within walking distance from one another.
Above all, Tel Aviv is a beach city; a broad expanse of fine sand extends more than 10km (6 miles) along the seashore. City residents pour onto the beach for air, space and relaxation every weekend and at any opportunity during the day. Its wide promenade is a magnificent sight and runs for miles all the way from the port in north Tel Aviv to the old quarter of Jaffa – which, incidentally, has ceased to be a hostile Arab town and has become a popular waterside dining and leisure district of Tel Aviv.
With its art galleries, flea market, antique shops and restaurants, Jaffa is a pleasant place to stroll and relax. Although mentioned several times in the Bible and developed as Jerusalem’s principal seaport during Temple times, Jaffa gives little sense of its long history. Only a small section of Old Jaffa remains today, its lanes and stairways cleaned up and restored beyond recognition and the squalid center replaced by a park. In any case, most of the town was built after Napolean’s destructive raid in 1799. Thus, the oldest port in the world (with all its trade long ago moved to Tel Aviv or Haifa) has become a mere district in the most modern city in the world.
Much of the original Tel Aviv, around the popular Rothschild Boulevard, was built in the pre-War Bauhaus or internationalist style. The city now has the world’s largest surviving collection of Bauhaus buildings, thousands of them currently being handsomely restored and returned to their original gleaming white color. The unique urban and historical fabric of Tel Aviv-Jaffa has been recognized by UNESCO, which in 2003, proclaimed 'The White City' a World Cultural Heritage site.
As well as having a multitude of attractions of its own, Tel Aviv is well-placed as a base for day trips to Jerusalem and Caesarea, while even the Dead Sea and the Galilee are within a two-hour drive of the city.
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