Wendy and Jim's Travel Blog
Day 18: Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Ilana Goor Museum
Well, it is Shavuot, a “ high” holiday here so most things are closed. Not very good planning on OAT’s part since tomorrow is Shabbat and ditto! Ibrahim did not let this faze him however, and found wonderful things for us to do.
Tel Aviv is a very cosmopolitan city, the beaches are incredibly crowded, but most of the stores and shops were closed. On the other hand, Jaffa, officially part of Tel Aviv, was open. It is an Arab/Israeli area, but very different from Jerusalem. Here there are art galleries, major department stores, and celebration of the secular life of Israelis. 
Jaffa was built mostly in the 16th century and was once the major port of Israel. It was also the home of Jonah of whale fame. We made our way down alleyways twisting and turning along the old stones. 
Our destination, the Ilana Goor Museum is one of
the most unique we’ve been in anywhere. 
The building was built by the Ottoman Turks over 300 years ago with high arches and distinctive ceilings. She bought it and renovated it in 1995. 
Ilana is now 87 dividing her time between this museum (where has an apartment on the premises along with her husband Lenny) and NYC. She is a completely self taught artist, incorporating welding, leather, agricultural materials and many other objects into her own works. 
She also has bought hundreds of artistic works from around the world to add to the collection. This lamp was brought from a mosque, has 72 blue bulbs, an important color in Turkish mosques. It, like many pieces had to be lifted into place by an indoor crane. 
The kitchen is still functional holds a multitude of copper pots. 
The rooftop has several unique pieces including a pond with a wild fountain. 
She made all the chandeliers here including this one with animal horns. ( 2 or 3) 
Someone asked how she finances the museum. We heard the great story about how years ago, she was shopping in Bloomingdale’s in NYC and Lenny was wearing a unique belt she made. A person stopped them asking about the belt. It turned out, he was in charge of
the belt department and started commissioning her to make the leather and metal welded belts. She quickly branched out to jewelry, sculptures, etc. Her husband Lenny went onto bring popcorn machines into movie theatres— not too shabby either. 
We could have stayed all day, everywhere you turned there was more to see. And looking up was important too. 
Reluctantly we left to continue our Jaffa walk down to the old port area, passing an old mosque and an interesting horoscope fountain near the central square. 
We stopped for bathroom break at a lovely local hotel that turned out to have an interesting backstory. It was originally a prison built by the Turks. It later became an Israeli prison that notoriously housed Adolph Eichmann! 
Here we met another guide, a friend of Ibrahim’s who was joining us for a culinary tour of
Jaffa. Our first stop was to sample “fadooleh“ — a sweet rose water slushy drink with thin noodles in it.
Some of us opted to “kick it up a notch” by spiking it with “arak”, the ubiquitous anise liqueur that seems to be everywhere in Israel. Next, to accompany the drink, a delicious pastry with cheese called “sambusak“ from the large bakery next door. 
Along the way she pointed out street art which was very easy to see since most of it was painted on shop doors which were all closed! 
In honor of Shavuot, we had bread and a few different cheeses to put on it, along with Turkish-style grilled olives and stuffed grape leaves. Most people celebrate Shavuot with various kinds of dairy food
Our next to last stop was to try two different kinds of fish— ceviche and fried mullet. Followed by some very fresh cherries and apricots.
And lastly, Golda’s cheesecake ice cream. Ibrahim’s favorite ice cream spot in Tel Aviv, Anita’s, was closed, but this was a worthy substitute. 
Another 10,000 step day and a late afternoon which included a quick swim in the beautiful hotel pool followed by a windy walk to get dinner— pizza and burger across from the beach. Lilah tov!
#published #evernote
Traffic was bumper to bumper because of the problem with police cars and the hundreds of tourists heading towards the spot, and for over an hour we inched our up the high hill towards the top. Cars cut off busses, and vice versa, and it was every driver for himself, inching towards the goal.
We finally made it to a scenic overlook. Ibrahim explained about the oldest Jewish cemetery on top of the hill (very expensive and elite- when the messiah comes down, you are closer 
Ibrahim took this opportunity to share some of the controversial aspects of the political and cultural differences here, and although we were not threatened in any way, we were relieved that he also kept us safe. 
Our next stop was also difficult, but for an entirely different reason. Yad Vashem means
a memorial and a name. This world famous museum is built on Mt. Hertzl where not only Theodore Hertzl is buried, but also all the fallen soldiers from the wars in Israel. It tells the story of the over six million Jews killed in the holocaust and is a memorial and testament of all the suffering and persecution that took place but also to the resilience of the Jewish people. Pictures are not allowed except outside but here are some from the entranceway and some websites. 
Two hours was not enough to really read and absorb everything. Walking from room to room, we saw the development of the rise of Nazism, the increasing crescendo of
anti-Semitism in Germany, followed by incredibly detailed accounts of the ghettos, the resistance, the camps, and the Final Solution.
To say it was heart wrenching and emotional does not due justice to the powerfulness of this story. The entrance and grounds are very expansive, beautiful and peaceful and bring some quiet contemplation and solace when coming out. Although we went to Yad Vashem when we first visited Israel in 1976, this new location and building were built in 2005 and is designed in the shape of a prism dividing the mountain.
It was called Elvis American Diner, a lively shrine to the 
We arrived in Tel Aviv to the nicest and most luxurious hotel, the Royal Beach. I guess they saved the best for last! Location, location, right across from the wide expanse of Mediterranean beaches and beach volleyball courts, the area was teeming with activity. 
It is a 4 day weekend here with Shavuot, a huge
holiday preceding Shabbat. Everybody has off and heads for the beach with friends and/ or family. 
We went to a Greek restaurant right along the beach for dinner which was pretty wild, crowded and noisy. But joining in the spirit of the place, and the young vibrancy of the city was really fun.