Update on New Port of Tel Aviv, Dizengoff and Yermiyahu Streets

Kaf-Gimel Yordei Ha'sira streets is a tiny two block street at the entrance of the new Tel Aviv port. A small detail commented in earlier article. Tel Aviv has so many little details, we sometime forget until reminded.

I have been meaning to write updates on lots of places mentioned before on the blog and cover new ones. After getting a strange comment on the New Port of Tel Aviv article fron 2007 I was nudged to get started. The last few weeks I went to the new Tel Aviv port on Saturday nights. Tel Aviv starts buzzing again after the sabbath as evening comes. This year, fall has been warmer than usual and no real rain yet. Some people want the summer to be over already, with temperatures in the 30°s Celsius (85 to 95 °F) most of us can understand the complaints. It's been a hot summer and as we near November we hoped for cooler weather. This year the heat was so strong it affected vegetable prices. Poor farmers were getting very low yields and the vegetables were small and dry. Last month prices went up three to four times normal, even the government was wondering what was happening and investigated the problem.

Back to the port. On a hot Saturday, people do their best to get to the beach. Not just swim or tan on the sand, simply to walk or sit by the water is nice. Last Saturday a strong breeze was coming from the sea in the evening. Up to about nine at night, families with small children were making their way between the shops and restaurants. Some restaurants had small crowds, mostly families. Most were getting ready for the dinner rush that starts at about ten. The shops are usually quiet between seven and ten. Some close for the night at eight or nine. Some are open until the dinner crowd finishes at eleven or twelve. You never know when someone would buy a pair of shoes or the latest Nike T-shirt. Fall cloths are not selling yet, people don't need sweaters when it's hot. Bathing suits are going at 50% off, sandals, even nice Teva pieces are going for 30% to 50% off. Hot weather in Israel touches everyone's lives. The economy seems a little sluggish at the end of summer and early fall. But you can hear lots of tourists talking in German and Japanese. The port area in Tel Aviv is one of the places where you can get an English menu in every restaurant. In most restaurants and shops you can find waiters and sales girls who can speak French, Russian and Spanish as well. That's why the hotel concierges send tourists here.

If you like to see more local shops and restaurants head to Dizengoff and Yermiyahu streets. Dizengoff has been a high end boutique and shop strip for decades. It is going through jewelry and women boutique phase. Just the last year I have seen a hardware store and an electronic repair shop turn into a women dress shops. At the north end near the port side is a row of wedding dress shops, the biggest concentration in Israel. Yermiyahu street has a good variety of cafes and restaurants. You can see Tel Aviv's young set hang out here at night. Once in a while a celebrity will be spotted. This area besides the port cafes is a place to see and be seen in Tel Aviv. Dizengoff and Yermiyahu are just south and east of the port district. The map here shows Kaf-Gimel Yordei Ha'sira street. A two block street from the port circle to the intersection of Dizengoff and Ben Yehuda streets. From the intersection of Yordei Ha'sira, Dizengoff and Ben Yehuda head south on Dizengoff. Yermiyahu is the first big intersection and you will start seeing cafes along Yermiyahu from here. You can continue on Dizengoff, on a Saturday evening shops are closed but window shopping is great at this time of day. If you head down Yermiyahu, pick a cafe and sit for a while. The young crowd starts arriving at about ten. Some cafes will be open until one AM or later. Clubs start going at about eleven, so if you want to see what Tel Aviv clubs are like, get in early, otherwise you will be on the street waiting to get in. ENJOY Tel Aviv evenings this fall, warm weather is great for now.