Attractions

Monuments

At the center of the plaza suspended above the roadway in Dizengoff Square is a huge sculpture-fountain by Yaacov Agam named Water and Fire. Five large concentric metal rings are painted so that when the rings turn, the painted surfaces produce differing effects of light and color. At the same time (when everything is functioning), jets of water shoot upward from the rings, and at the top of the sculpture, in the midst of the shooting water, rises a jet of flame. Music accompanies the whole display in a show that lasts for 20 minutes. Agam's computerized sculpture begins to play at the beginning of each hour starting at 11am and continuing until 10pm. If you arrive a few minutes early, you may be able to get a seat on one of the benches surrounding the sculpture.

To the south, along Rothschild Boulevard, in the center of the island at Nahalat Benyamin Street, is the impressive Founder's Monument, depicting the three phases of Tel Aviv's history. The bottom shows the workers of 1909 digging and planting, while snakes and animals form a lower border. The middle level shows the Herzlia Gymnasium, in Levantine Fantasy style (the building was demolished in 1959); the uppermost section is modern Tel Aviv, showing the Ha-Bimah Theater, Bialik's home, and many ultramodern Tel Aviv landmarks.

Especially for Kids

The Eretz Israel Museum is great for kids: It has demonstrations of traditional crafts, a planetarium, a reconstructed Canaanite period house, and a nature exhibit. The Bet Hatfutzot/Diaspora Museum is a real learning experience for all ages. Many exhibits are especially geared to the young.

Safari Park is especially good for older children, who will enjoy watching wild animals of all kinds roam free.

Jaffa

Now an integrated component in the sprawling Tel Aviv-Jaffa complex, Jaffa has a long and colorful history, dating from biblical times. This is the port, the Bible tells us, where King Solomon's ally, the Phoenician king Hiram of Tyre, landed cedars of Lebanon for the construction of Solomon's Temple; from here Jonah embarked for his fabulous adventure with the whale. The Greeks were here too, and they fostered the legend that a poor maiden named Andromeda, chained to a rock and on the verge of being sacrificed to a sea monster, was rescued by Perseus on his winged white horse. Today, visitors are shown this rock, a tourist attraction since ancient times.

The Crusaders also came this way. Richard the Lion-Hearted built a citadel here that was promptly snatched away by Saladin's brother, who slaughtered 20,000 Christians in the process. Napoleon passed through 600 years or so later; a few Jewish settlers came in the 1890s; and Allenby routed the Turks from the port in 1917.

One Jewish legend has it that all the sunken treasure in the world flows toward Jaffa, and that in King Solomon's day the sea offered a rich bounty, accounting for the king's wealth. According to the legend, since Solomon's time, the treasure has once again been accumulating -- to be distributed by the Messiah on the Day of the Coming "to each man according to his merits."

Today, Jaffa still shows traces of its romantic and mysterious past. The city is built into a kind of amphitheater on the side of a hill. The old section of the city has become the starlit patio of Tel Aviv, providing an exceptional view, fine restaurants, and the most beautifully restored Old City in Israel. The flea market district, near the clock tower, is ramshackle but has real personality.

The streets from Tel Aviv run into Jaffa's Jerusalem Avenue and Tarshish Street where a great stone tower and the Turkish mosque, Mahmudiye (1812), reminds you of the city's continuing Arab community.

A Stroll around Old Jaffa

The reclamation of Old Jaffa -- only a short time ago a slumlike area of war ruins and crumbling Turkish palaces -- has proven to be one of the most imaginative of such projects in all Israel. Atop the hill and running down in a maze of descending streets to the sea are artists' studios and galleries, outdoor cafes, fairly expensive restaurants, and gift shops, all artfully arranged among the reconstructed ruins. Climb to the top of the hill and wander through the lanes (named for the Hebrew signs of the zodiac). At the summit is Kikar Kedumim, the central plaza, and at one side of it, the Franciscan Monastery of Saint Peter, which was built above a medieval citadel. You can visit the church for prayers on Sunday. Opposite the church is an excavation area, surrounded by a fence, where you can inspect remnants of a 3rd-century-B.C. catacomb. Facing the catacomb is a hilltop garden, Gan Ha-Pisgah, atop which, surrounded by trees, is a white monument depicting scenes from the Bible: the conquest of Jericho, the near-sacrifice of Isaac, and Jacob's dream.

Past the church gardens, on the sea side of the hill, is a small and charming cafe. Wander through the elaborately decorated dome-roofed room and out onto the deck, for a superb all-encompassing view of Tel Aviv and the Mediterranean coastline. Incidentally, Andromeda's Rock is traditionally the most prominent of those blackened stones jutting up from the floor of the bay. The view is brilliant in the morning sunlight. At night, it takes on more of a fairy-tale aura.

Returning to Kikar Kedumim, near the Muscat Restaurant, you enter the restored maze of Old Jaffa's market streets, filled with interesting antiques and souvenir shops to explore. For those interested in art and interior design, the Ilana Goor Museum, the beautifully renovated mansion of one of Israel's successful sculptors, is a delightful stop. Over the centuries this building has been put to many uses, including a long stint as a caravansary for 19th-century Jewish pilgrims. Now each room is like a page out of Architectural Digest, filled with Ilana Goor's own works, and her private collection of art. There's a rooftop cafe with good food and sweeping views as well as a small one-of-a-kind museum shop. The admission fee is rather exorbitant for what is essentially a gallery, but the building is interesting on many levels. It's open Monday to Thursday and Saturday from 10am to 10pm and Friday 10am to 4pm; admission is NIS 28 ($7/£3.50).

A short (.5km/ 1/4-mile) stroll south of Old Jaffa brings you to the disused port of Jaffa Harbor, now a fenced-in area of dockside restaurants.

Special/Free Events

Many summer evenings after 8pm there is free samba dancing on the Herbert Samuel Esplanade, beside the beach in South Tel Aviv. There is also music and dancing at other points along the beach on evenings throughout the week. Check in person with the Israel Tourist Information Office, 7 Mendele St. (tel. 03/520-7600), for current information.

There are free evening outdoor concerts in Yarkon Park and in Old Jaffa during the summer. Check the newspapers or the Israel Tourist Office for dates.

Nahalat Benyamin Pedestrian Mall has an outdoor craft bazaar and street performers every Tuesday and Friday from 10am to 5pm. Take bus no. 4.