Ajami, the 2009 film (not the neighborhood), left its mark on me. A shocking crime drama set in a 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 borders can be drawn on a map, but a walk through it will clarify how blurred those borders are. Ajami was built as one of many neighborhoods that arose with Jaffa's expansion in the 19th century. These were ethnic neighborhoods for Jews, Christians, and Muslims, each with its own beauty and story.

A tour of the Ajami neighborhood takes us between the sea and the alleys, between old and 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'm curious to discover it, to open a door literally and figuratively. Meetings that I also expose to my travelers if possible. In the press and on television, they talk about Jaffa in the context of gentrification and the price of real estate. The movie "Ajami" deals with crime, but the story here is much more fascinating and complex than that. Therefore, it is recommended to get off the couch and experience the place for yourselves. Here, it is recommended to tour with a guide, in my case with a local guide, and alongside all of this, discover the essence of the place's magic. Ajami is my neighborhood. The place where I chose to live and reside. And in my home, I weave my story into the tour. Here I go to sleep and wake up to the delicate and very special fabric of life.

Ajami means ‘the stranger,’ the Persian. Various traditions are intertwined around him. According to one, this is the burial place of Ibrahim al-Ajami, and the neighborhood mosque, Ajami Mosque, was built on it.

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

Jaffa's electric transformer stands at the edge of the Two Parks, at the corner of Yeffet and Ziona Tager streets. This is one of the first five electric transformers that Pinhas Rutenberg established at the beginning of the Jaffa Electric Company. The transformer was designed in an Oriental style by architect Alexander Baerwald.

At the edge of the Givat Aliyah neighborhood, overlooking the sea, stands a building different in style from the neighborhood's houses: the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation. In the distant past, Jaffa's Donlo B’ government hospital was located here. It is recommended to book a visit and experience the beautiful interior of Israel, its people, and groundbreaking initiatives for the entire world, as part of Shimon Peres's 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.