Went to dinner with a friend last night. We stopped at a French Cafe. At least four languages were spoken ordering wine and food. Hebrew, French, Russian and English. This is the where life blends, but keeps the sharp edges and curves it was meant to have.
Tel Aviv is vibrant and thriving, letting my feet come into contact with the Mediterranean sea along the golden beaches adds an earthy note to the Bauhaus architecture and lively cosmopolitan atmosphere in Israel’s most modern metropolis.
My colleagues were after the city-scape but I had another agenda. I wanted to see the Jaffa Clock Tower. What is my fascination with clocks these days? Well, I could tell you but then I’d have to kill you. At least thats what the security screening I encountered at Prague airport before boarding the flight indicated. A single female = a level 7 seven security threat. No one will tell me why exactly but I have my sources. I’ll find out…eventually.
The Tayelet lends itself to an evening promenading, lined with plenty of cafés and wine bars, to Jaffa, with its preserved acropolis remains and restored stone architecture. The original bazaar area is now lively in the evening when the old town throngs with diners. The flea market here is the hubbub of a real souk, while the Monastery and the Old Port area make it a tranquil place for a charming stroll away from the fast and loud of the city.
Anyway, back to my clock, over a century ago, an ornate clock tower was constructed in Jaffa to pay homage to the Ottoman ruler and his then, still extensive, empire. The tower’s clock is a source of pride for the Jews and Arabs in Jaffa who collaborated to build it.
