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When
Lawrence Davis and his group meet
Rent-a-Guide Tours creator
Reuben for the first time, he tells them all about the city of
Jaffa, a suburb of
Tel Aviv.
Jaffa is a
mixed city with Israelis and Arabs and it used to just be
sand dunes and
mountains. The sand dunes come from the
Nile, describes
Reuben, and the Northern stream in the
Mediterranean pushes the sand. He tells the group that through digging, archaeologists have found earlier civilizations covered by sand dunes. Over time,
Jaffa has gone through
tremendous growth and the prices of property have risen enormously.
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Reuben and his car
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To hear
Reuben describe where the
sand dunes come from, click here: (Coming soon!)
Reuben takes
Davis’s group into his wonderful office and shares a wealth of knowledge with them right away.
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Rent-a-Guide staff
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He explains that in the biblical times, the port of Israel was the
Jaffa port and from there, the sinners of Lebanon were brought to build the
Temple in
Jerusalem. When
Solomon built the
Temple, it is written that he brought the sinners of Lebanon through
Jaffa. As one comes to
Jerusalem, they see the
Jaffa road. This is the beginning of the road connecting
Jerusalem to
Jaffa, which was actually the exit of
Jerusalem to the
Mediterranean. After introducing the group to his friendly staff, he shows them some of the awards displayed on his walls.
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Rent-a-Guide Tours awards
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Reuben informs the group that the hill they saw on the way to his office is called
“Tel” in
Hebrew, which means an
artificial hill that is built, so over time, different layers of different cities become a hill gradually.
Tel Aviv got its name because its ruins reflect and symbolize the past. When
Nahum Sokolow translated the book of
Herzl, the founder of
Zionism, he found that
Herzl predicted that the Jewish people would come back to live in
Israel in 1898.
Herzl wasn’t a greatly religious person but he had a dream, and 50 years later, in 1948,
Israel was established.
Herzl wrote a very interesting book so
Nahum Sokolow translated the book into
Hebrew and wanted to translate the name
Tel Aviv in a symbolic way.
“Aviv” means
spring in
Hebrew, so the new land is like spring time to the Jewish people,
Reuben clarifies.
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Reuben with Davis's Aunt and Uncle
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From
Reuben’s office, he shows
Davis’s group the
Shalom Tower, an office building, and a painting of the famous
Herzliya High School which was removed to the northern part of
Tel Aviv.
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The Shalom Tower outside Reuben's office
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In the time of
Little Tel Aviv,
Herzl Road, one of the first and main streets of
Tel Aviv, went under
Herzliya High School,
Reuben began. The school had a gate at the entrance in those days. Today if you go to the new
Herzliya High School, in a very exclusive part of
Tel Aviv, they have a replica of the same gate.
Reuben’s daughter just graduated from this high school. All of
Reuben’s paintings are by
Nachum Gutman, who lived in
Little Tel Aviv in the old days.
Reuben calls him “the most famous painter of those days.”
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Artwork inside Reuben's office
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Reuben has so much more to share about the city.
Tel Aviv was established in 1909. In the biblical times only
Jaffa existed. There were waves of immigration and there wasn’t enough space in
Jaffa so the people went to the North, but this area was almost covered in sand dunes. The first neighborhood out of
Jaffa of Jewish settlers was called
Neve Tzedick, and it became the first neighborhood in
Tel Aviv. Gradually,
Tel Aviv was developed from the South towards the North. The further you go towards the North, the more you see new and modern places,
Reuben points out. As
Davis’s group learns all this, they also learn they are in
Little Tel Aviv because then
Tel Aviv was very little.
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Inside Reuben's car
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Inside a beautifully new
Mercedes car,
Reuben talks about
Old Jaffa and
New Jaffa. Driving through
New Jaffa is very busy at night but dead in the day time.
Old Jaffa is filled with artists and it is where tourists go to find
shopping, jewelery and
art. The group passes an
Arab Juice Bar that seems to be popular. Signs outside the store say that they serve coffee and ice cream, along with fruit and juice.
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Arab Juice Bar
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Then
Reuben tells
Davis's group about a restaurant that has “the best pita bread” called
Abu-Nassar-Hinnawi restaurant. The restaurant is owned by an Arab and the group heads there for lunch.
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The restaurant's exterior and interior
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Lunch with Reuben
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Reuben introduces the group to the restaurant’s owner, and she graciously keeps the food coming and coming, making for a scrumptious meal.
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The restaurant's owner
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After lunch, the group heads to
Davis’s Aunt and Uncle’s hotel, the
Sheraton Moriah Tel Aviv Hotel. Their hotel has an incredible view of the ocean. To read a full review on the
Sheraton Moriah Tel Aviv Hotel, click here: (Coming soon!)
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View of the ocean from inside the hotel
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Davis takes a cab to
Jerusalem for his stay at the
Jerusalem Plaza Hotel, a hotel that he really enjoys. The cab driver is full of knowledge about
Jerusalem, and
Davis is happy to take it all in. The view from
Davis’s room at the
Jerusalem Plaza Hotel is beautiful during the day and even more special at night.
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The beautiful view
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The view at night
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Tomorrow, a new day with a new tour guide will begin, and
Davis’s group knows that the trip is only going to get better and better.
To read an article about his ride from
Tel Aviv to
Jerusalem, and what happens next in his trip to
Israel, click here.
To read about Rent-a-Guide Tours, click here.
To read about Davis’ trip to Tel Aviv, click here.
To read about Davis' interview with the Sheraton Jerusalem Plaza Hotel's Executive Chef, click here.
To read about Davis’ trip to Jerusalem, click here.
To read about Davis' trip in the Old City of Jerusalem, click here.
To read about Davis' trip to Jerusalem from his Uncle's perspective, click here.
For more information on Rent-a-Guide Tours, please visit their site by clicking here.
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