Sandeman's tour of Tel Aviv
Blog: Adventures, trials and wanderings of American-Israeli in New York City of Middle East
At 3:30 pm on Wednesday I took the tour around the city. With an Australian guide, a group of German tourists, two women from the Netherlands (who ducked out after 30 minutes), and a Canadian originally from the Philippines, we took off on this three-hour journey.
The tour - in English - starts off at the fountain in front of the Opera Tower and then weaves from the beach, to Bialik's house, Bauhaus sites and various other locations, and ends in Neve Tzedek.
The tour is great for learning historical information about Tel Aviv and its founding. One story I was particularly fond of was of the initial arrival of Chaim Nachman Bialik's (Israel's national poet) at his home in Tel-Aviv in 1924.
Bialik was a household name at this point and the community was so eager to have him stay in Tel Aviv and make him comfortable that they went to comical extremes. The neighborhood was very interested in keeping him writing that when he would take afternoon naps the area went silent (essentially all the neighborhood was warned and told the poet needed his rest).
Some of the stories I found the most intriguing on the tour were the personal ones about the tour guides. Our guide, the Australian, came here a year ago on a trip and has stayed ever since because he fell in love with an Israeli who he met on the beach. He intends to return to Australia soon (with his mate) to begin graduate school in Middle Eastern Politics and Medicine (which is apparently a shorter program down under).
Another story our guide told us was about an American who came to Israel on Birthright and went to the billiard bar in Tel Aviv. She got fairly drunk and had little to no recollection of the night before. However, the next morning a guy, who she remembered she exchanged numbers with, called her and asked her out. She said why not and went out with him. As they say, the rest is history, and after six weeks of dating they got engaged and are now happily married for over two years. So Birthright success - matching Jews up for years (JDate, take note).
Okay, enough of the asides and back to the tour. Another tid bit of history I found particularly interesting came at the end of the tour and has to do with the proclamation ceremony of the founding of the State of Israel. After long fierce debates on what to name the announced state that evening, a committee of prominent figures, including Ben-Gurion, finally agreed on the name Israel. They all went home to get ready for the event which was just an hour or so away.
Meanwhile, Ze'ev Sharef, the man who had volunteered to type up the agreed upon proclamation on his typewriter, had finished with just enough time to spare to dress up and go to the ceremony. One thing he forgot to take into account was transportation. He goes outside to flag a taxi down and sees that the streets are deserted. Everyone is indoors listening to the radio awaiting the momentous declaration of the State of Israel.
So Sharef begins to run, sees a car whirling around the corner and jumps out in front of it. He explains to the driver the situation, shows him the document, and the driver agrees to take him to the Tel Aviv Museum (now Independence Hall) for the ceremony. After driving for a little while, the British police stop the car for speeding. At this point the driver shares with Sharef that the car he is driving is borrowed and that he does not have a license.
Slightly panicked and with the clock ticking, Sharef explains the situation to the British police. Either they were Zionist policeman or they knew that in a couple of hours they would be leaving the country. Either way, they let Sharef and the driver go. Sharef arrived at the museum a minute before Ben-Gurion opened the ceremony. With the reading of that document the State of Israel was declared on May 14, 1948.
The tour proved to be informative and I met some friendly and interesting people along the way. I would recommend this tour to people who are new to the Tel Aviv area and would like to learn a little about the history of the city.
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