Tour of the fabric of life in the Ajami neighborhood – with a local guide

Ajami 2009, the film, not the neighborhood, left its mark on me. A harrowing crime drama set in the Jaffa neighborhood., The actors, residents of the neighborhood, were inexperienced in acting but rich in life experience. Following the film, the neighborhood burst into the public consciousness, but as a veteran Tel Aviv tour guide, I never imagined that three years later I would choose it as my place of residence.

The neighborhood's boundaries can be drawn on a map, but a walk through it will reveal how blurred those boundaries are. Ajami was built as one of many neighborhoods that sprang up with the expansion of Jaffa in the 19th century, ethnic neighborhoods of Jews, Christians, and Muslims, each with its own beauty and story.

A trip to the Ajami neighborhood takes us between the sea and the alleys, between the old and the new., between then and now. The elegant buildings alongside dilapidated structures bear witness not only to the ravages of time, but also to wars and political upheavals.

Between the noise and the silence here, I love to listen to the sounds: the muezzin's call alternating with the ringing of church bells, the sounds of the oud emanating here and there from the window of a local hamara, the crowing of roosters and the bleating of sheep, and in the evening, colorful fireworks exploding in the air, hinting at a wedding. Personally, in my secret corner, I indulge with the travelers in the sounds of a wonderful harpist.

In Ajami, you can also fall in love through your stomach.. Alongside the long lines at the famous hummus restaurants in the Abu Hassan and Kalboni neighborhoods, there are the equally famous bagel bakeries and, of course, some of the coffee shops whose aroma I love to wake up to in the morning. Speaking of smells, there's nothing like sitting on the beach promenade, sprawled on the grass or sitting on a bench, and indulging in the smell of the sea, which reminds me that we haven't talked about a fish meal in Jaffa yet. More than anything, I look for traditional foods that can be tasted mainly in homes. With loving hands, the women knead the dough and fill it with spices and stories. I love the human interaction and the story at the tip of the fork.

When I wander around my neighborhood for pleasure, I like to look at doors.. Here you can find endless specials.. I know that behind each of them there is a special human story. No less, and I am curious to discover it, to open a door in both senses of the word. Encounters that I also share with my travelers, if possible. The press and television talk about Jaffa in the context of gentrification and real estate values. The film Ajami deals with crime, but the story here is much more fascinating and complex than that. Therefore, it is recommended to get out of your chair and experience the place for yourself. It is recommended to tour with a guide, in my case with a local guide, and discover the essence of the place's charm. Ajami is my neighborhood. It is where I chose to live. I weave my story in my home into the tour. Here I go to sleep and wake up into the delicate and very special fabric of life.

Ajami is 'the stranger,' the Persian. Various traditions have sprung up around him, one of which claims that this is the burial place of Ibrahim al-Ajami, upon which the neighborhood's mosque was built – the Ajami Mosque.

The garden is named after an event in which a neighborhood resident, Abed al-Jani, was murdered by an Arab terrorist while trying to protect a girl, Ilanit Ohana, who was also murdered in the same incident in 1992. The street adjacent to the garden where Abed al-Jani lived is named after him.

The Jaffa electrical transformer stands at the edge of Gan HaShniim, at the corner of Yafo and Tziona Tagar Streets. It is one of the first five electrical transformers built by Pinchas Rotenberg at the beginning of the Jaffa Electric Company. The transformer was designed in an oriental style by architect Alexander Brovald.

On the edge of the Givat Aliyah neighborhood, overlooking the beach, stands a building that differs in style from the other houses in the neighborhood: the Shimon Peres Center for Peace and Innovation. In the distant past, this was the site of the Jaffa Government Hospital, Donnel B. We recommend reserving a place to experience the beautiful face of Israel, its people, and its groundbreaking projects for the whole world, as part of Shimon Peres' vision.

A city villa overlooking the sea—that was what Abdul Rahim wanted from Jewish architect Yitzhak Rapoport. The story of the building and the relationship between the two men, and how it became the French ambassador's residence, is a fascinating one.