City By The Sea

Witness to history and a stellar example of modern urbanity, Tel Aviv is always alive, always new

- Charukesi Ramadurai

THE HATACHANA RAILWAY STATION IS MY PERFECT INTRODUCTION TO TEL AVIV’s never-say-die spirit. It is late in the evening, and the molten sun is poised low over the sea right across the road. Tel Avivians who have been out walking and jogging, biking and barbecuing—in other words, making the best use of their summer weekend—are slowly winding down for the day.

Israelis elsewhere derisively call this city ‘The Bubble,’ but Tel Avivians wear it as a badge of honour. Not surprising, given that Tel Aviv—meaning ‘spring hill’—itself was established in 1909 with the objective of being secular, modern, and inclusive. Today, it lives up to that promise, with its liberal attitudes, reflected in everything from its colourful Gay Pride marches to casual dress codes.

And inside the premises of what used to be the old Jaffa train station, where passengers from Jerusalem once alighted, the fun is just beginning. Patrons head to dozens of al fresco cafés, buzzing bars, and upscale boutiques, right in the midst of truncated railway tracks and refurbished warehouses. It is impossible to imagine that for several decades this was a derelict site. When the railway line between Jerusalem and Jaffa was shut down in 1948, the entire site was abandoned and left to decay.