Tel Aviv, Israel – a city of contrasting tones

It’s been now almost three months since I was in Tel Aviv. It was a business trip. It was exciting, it was hot, sweaty, tiring, and busy. I only spent three days there, but on my last day, I managed to do some sightseeing and fell in love with the city. Or at least to develop a crush on it.

There are many reasons why I have not posted about Tel Aviv sooner. The first one is life. I am living a unique year in my life, marked by change, by lots of downs, and it’s been hard to find the inspiration to come here and write (I am getting there though!). Second, I was in Tel Aviv for work. So really most of my time was spent in meetings, summarising meetings and doing some extra hours to ensure nothing got delayed. And finally cause it’s hard to think of Israel without thinking of conflict, without thinking of the older-than-time murderous hate between the Israelis and Palestinians. I am not going to delve into any of these issues here, as I have my own opinions and I understand how this is controversial. The only side I take is the one of those who everyday fall victim to this – from both sides of the borders. In fact, just a few days before our departure, we thought we might have to call off the trip. Things were looking ugly, and it was hard to ignore the warnings I was getting in my inbox about not just rockets falling near Tel Aviv, but also strikes, and demonstrations…thankfully, a cease-fire was announced just before the day we took off.

The funny thing is that this trip was more of a revelation at a personal level than anything else. This visit to Tel Aviv made me realise that I needed to change my life in some way (you know you’re unhappy in your job when you finally get the chance to do business travel and instead of being motivated, you ended up wanting to find another path).

And of course, this city was such a nice surprise. It was one more reminder of how often we let our own hidden prejudices fed by media outlets taint the view of some regions.

Don’t take me wrong – I had heard it was amazing. Top-notch destination. And yes, Tel Aviv was on my list of places to visit eventually but not up high – the main reason being that it’s been named the “Miami of the Middle East“. I’ve never been to Miami, but it doesn’t look like the place I’d enjoy. Fortunately, I do think I would enjoy spending more time in Tel Aviv. Specifically in the Old Town of Jaffa.

First of all, I found everyone extremely nice. This was not something I was expecting, and even my Israeli friend was surprised when I said so. “Perhaps for the foreigners,” she said, which I can see happening. It’s the same thing in Portugal!. But the locals of Tel Aviv could be rude as much as they wanted, and people would still visit – not only for business but for leisure too. This place has everything to be happy – beautiful beaches, amazing weather (perhaps too hot over summer, as in May we caught 26 degrees and I was struggling), and strong and ongoing growth of tech and finance hubs which provides a great source of employment and wealth.

On one side the water of the Mediterranean, on the other side skyscrapers wanting to compete with those of Manhattan. And then you have Jaffa – where history is conserved, creativity seems to know no boundaries, and the smell of delicious food comes from every corner.

I stayed in the new, business hub of Israel – I was on a business trip after all. It was about a half-hour walk from the beach. But of course, most of the pictures here were taken in Jaffa, in my two-hour walk before everyone in the UK started working. I’d say I had a taste of digital nomad living – not that pleasant, as I had to take a meeting in a cafe that ended up being too noisy and to work at the airport in the afternoon, again not a peaceful place!

So I took the bus to Jaffa and got off by the clock tower.

I saw some groups of tourists stationed nearby, and wanting to escape any crowds, I made my way to Jaffa’s Port. This is one of the oldest ports in the world, in almost continuous operations for the past 4,000 years! This area has clearly been recently renovated, you’ll find nice cafes and restaurants, but most importantly the gate to the ancient city of Jaffa.

Climbing up the stairs, you officially enter the walled city, where you walk in narrow sandstone streets, now lined up with galleries, little cafes and quirky decor. In many ways, it reminded me of my experience in Dubrovnik.

I loved how every corner of Jaffa (and even in the modern city of Tel Aviv) was punctuated with green. Plants are a big presence, which helps to cool off the air. Even looking at them made it all more breathable.

Then, I came across the Floating Orange Tree.

It was created by Israeli sculptor Ran Morin and it’s considered a symbol of the city. The tree is absolutely real, and it blooms and bears oranges. This fruit has long been associated with Israel, whose economy relied significantly on exporting agricultural goods, such as oranges to Europe. But in 1978, Palestinian Extremists, clearly meaning to destroy that economy, poisoned oranges with mercury, causing several people in Western Europe to become sick. The extremists got what they wanted, but perhaps underestimated the strong willingness of the Israelis – this caused the country to focus in a completely different direction – instead of orange trees, we now see the skyscrapers that represent so well an economy based on advanced technology.

I let myself wander in the streets, eventually leaving the walled part of the city and entering the bustling markets streets, where the smell of food made me salivate – I had not had breakfast just yet! So, I got the below delicious Turkish breakfast and was well-fed for most of the day – the Caffe Puaa below, highly recommended.

With my hunger satiated, I continued my walks.

I paid particular attention to doors and windows, something that always catches my eye in old cities. I’ve found that in the past, people really cared about entrances to any building – whether a residential or commercial one, to be more than a simple board of wood.

And finally, took some time to enjoy the artwork surrounding me.

Hope you enjoyed this little sneak peek into the city of Tel Aviv. Definitely, a place I hope to get back to one day, with more time to explore.

Love, Nic