Marquis de Sand
I know, I’ve been writing about my various nieces and nephews a lot, but hey, they’re doing interesting things in their twentysomething-year-old lives of seeking and searching their future selves.
Today’s pick is nephew Adin, brother of Noa of storm chasing and army officer fame. Adin is something of an iconoclast, a lover of anything geographical, a traveler, happily living at home post-army and recent Africa travels, trying to figure out what his future holds.
And during this in-between period of his life, he and his friend, Shai, have become expert sand castle builders. You see, even in the rainy Israeli winter you can expect warm days, days that are warm enough for hanging out on the beach, just a short 45-minute drive from Jerusalem. So Shai the university student and Adin the soon-to-be student, have been spending a lot of time honing their sand-building skills on the Israeli shores, building fantastical structures that pay attention to the smallest details.
We, the family, got wind of this the other night while watching a video of Adin’s trip to Africa last summer. Of course, being his aunt, uncle, parents and grandmother, our reaction was, “Adin, you could use these skills to become an architect or an engineer!” I wouldn’t say our comments fell on deaf ears, but Adin kept his counsel to himself.
In the meantime, I’m sharing some of his creations with you, dear readers, and if you have any ideas about where Adin can share his sandcastle creations, or what he could do with such skills, pass ‘em on. I’ll be discreet.
Nostalgia Sunday – Kikar Atarim: What’s up with that?
Filed under: Art, General, History and Culture, Nostalgia Sunday, Pop Culture, Travel
I have family visiting Israel this week and they are staying at a very nice hotel in Tel Aviv. Unfortunately, like most of the nice hotels in Tel Aviv, theirs is located adjacent to a local embarrassment known as Kikar Atarim (Atarim Square, also known as Namir Square). And like most visitors, they are curious as to the origins of this concrete and stone monstrosity whose sole purpose seems to be to block the view and the route to the sea. Oh, and to serve as a giant pissoir.
Google the phrase “kikar atarim” and what you’ll get is a series of items terming it everything from “the single most disappointing and embarrassing tourist attraction in the city” and “[a] prime example[s] of what can kindly be called ‘errors in urban planning’” to “a colossal failure”, “concrete atrocity” and “something I crawled over and got away from as quickly as I could.”
In her Haaretz article, A white elephant from outer space in the heart of Tel Aviv, author Shani Shilo relates that during the first Gulf War, then-Tel Aviv Mayor Shlomo (Cheech) Lahat “remarked that he hoped an Iraqi missile would land on Atarim Square and destroy the thing.” I had it on my Saddam Hussein wish list as well.
The square, built on a cliff leading down to the sea, was designed as a multifunctional structure and tourist attraction by one of Israel’s most dominant architects, Yacov Rechter, as a prime example of Brutalist architecture in Israel. When it opened in the early 1970s, it was very successful for a time: the Kolbo Shalom department store had a branch called “The Drugstore,” modeled after Le Drugstore, (a famous Parisian 60s hangout); people flocked to the Shahaf Cinema and sat in cafes under the concrete mushrooms. Here’s a lovely picture (above) of screenwriter Moshe (Pommy) Hadar and his wife Bella Levin in front of Drugstore Shalom.
In 1978, the municipality changed the name of the square to honor the late Mordechai Namir, who was mayor from 1959 to 1969. But the square had already begun a downwards spiral from which it has yet to emerge.
Tel Aviv lore has it that Kikar Atarim is a sort of No Man’s Land run by shadowy underworld types who take astronomical amounts in protection fees, thus preventing any businesses from being able to sustain, let alone flourish. And, according to Wikipedia (in Hebrew), this is probably true: “Towards the end of the Seventies, it changed entirely. Criminal elements took over the shops and a police station was established on the premises, the stores on the lower levels closed or were turned into gambling clubs. The Kolbo Shalom branch closed and the round structure stood abandoned for a number of years.”
And then, in 1982, Kikar Atarim experienced a sort of revival when the round structure was turned into a disco called the Coliseum (sic). Grace Jones, pop’s original and true diva, performed at the club opening and for years it was the place to go, see, be seen and get picked up. The surrounding area, however, continued to deteriorate to the point that Ora Namir, Ambassador, MK and widow of Mordechai Namir – and no slouch when it came to PR – requested that the municipality disassociate her late husband’s name from the place. And that, children, is how Haifa Road came to be know as Namir Road.
And then came the early Nineties and Mayor Lahat’s pronouncement, so reminiscent of the cry raised by the residents of St. Louis’ Pruitt-Igoe housing complex when asked what action could make their residence habitable. They chanted, “Blow it … up! Blow it … up!”. (The authorities complied).
Unfortunately, the Tel Aviv municipality in 2009 has it harder than that of St. Louis in 1971, mainly because of Kikar Atarim’s umpteen property owners and their descendants who, according to Wikipedia, “are not able to cooperate in maintaining the square. Unlike the malls, the square has no maintenance company and essentially there is no entity that manages or maintains it. The cheap construction materials from which it was built, along with its proximity to the sea, contribute to its accelerated deterioration.”
In 2006, the municipality announced that it would not knock down Kikar Atarim and would redo it instead. Apparently, the repairs were only structural so I put in a couple of nice pictures of that dream. Believe me, it’s now a few days shy of 2010, I just spent a weekend walking and running in, out and round about Kikar Atarim, and the only thing that’s changed is that a few new layers of urine have been added to the stairwells.
The good news is that the Coliseum just reopened! It can no longer lay claim to the title, “The Biggest Disco in the Middle East,” but the refurbishment is nice. Too bad about the neighborhood.
Foto Friday – Footprints
Filed under: Foto Friday, General, Pop Culture, Travel
Sometimes it’s good to take a moment and see Israel from a different vantage point. In summer if you look down, for instance, you’re very likely to see “balatot” — the ubiquitous light limestone floor tile — plus a variety of fun footwear that takes you from work to the beach and back again.
A trip to the Dead Sea affords another type of shoe, suited to mud baths and salt water.
Which is different to what you’d wear to snap some sidewalk graffiti while walking up and down Rothschild Boulevard at Tel Aviv’s Laila Lavan all-night street fair. (This takeoff on the Peace Now logo says “Shalit Now” in reference to captured IDF soldier Gilad Shalit).
And sometimes a girl needs to take a rest from those heels at a sidewalk pub (note the Ackerstein paving blocks so typical of Tel Aviv).
A little culture never hurt.
Though these shoes might — especially the price. (Three thousand-plus shekels!)
Thank goodness, at the end of the day, there’s a place to relax on the edge of the Med.
PR woman Efrat Gurman is a consummate media professional who’s made a career out of positioning things differently. She’s a colleague and friend to photographers and in her few spare moments, snaps pictures of her own, mostly of of things that interest her – or that she makes interesting. For more of her “Footprints” series click here.
Tel Aviv to open new beach – In Vienna
At first glance in what can be interpreted as an odd PR move, the Israeli Embassy in Vienna will open a “beach” in the center of the city along the banks of the Danube River. Yes, a beach. In Vienna. Initially the idea sounds kind of stupid but it goes further than just setting up a gimmick-y beach in the center of a large European city. The unique yet temporary structure will have a huge screen (streaming video of the ocean perhaps?) on one side and on the other side beach chairs which will help integrate the feeling of “chilling out” at the beach. But wait, there’s more! The structure will host film nights and other cultural activities such as concerts. There will also be “quiet” nights where yoga workshops will be held as recordings of the surf breaking in the backgrounds plays.
Initiatives such as this are becoming more and more popular in promoting Israel abroad. Israeli is certainly becoming more and more proactive in promoting Israel as a cultural capital rather than being in a consistent position of constant defense of criticism. A good play for sure, but it will be interesting to see how these initiatives play out in the increasingly anti-Israel environs in Europe.
Foto Friday – Holyland Hashers run Tel Aviv
Filed under: Foto Friday, General, Pop Culture, Sports, Travel
My running club, the Holyland Hash House Harriers, held a traditional Red Dress Run in Tel Aviv this weekend in celebration of our 777th run. The Hash, for the uninitiated (and yes, there is an initiation!), is an international running and beer-drinking dis-organization that specializes in fun runs. And here’s your proof:
Here we are, doing a bit of cult-to-cult dancing with some Hare Krishnas.
Ynet did a really nice video of the run, noting that, as Israelis tend to take their sports very seriously, they seemed mighty perplexed by the stampede of “Ameri-kookim” tearing down Rothschild Boulevard.
But that was nothing compared to the week before, when the Holyland Hash House Harriers met up with 40 Royal Navy sailors and flummoxed Haifa.
We are now getting set for the Tel Aviv Marathon, 10k and 5k runs on April 24th. (Despite all outward appearances, the group includes some very serious athletes). So be on the lookout! Come run with us! Or at least have a camera ready.
Through rose-tinted glasses
Even though we live in the land-locked Jerusalem area, my family’s hearts are loyal to the sea. So whenever we get the chance, we beeline an hour toward the coast to one of our favorite beaches, Hof Ha-Tzuk Hatsfoni (Northern Tzuk Beach), right near the Herzliya Country Club, and just south of the Herzliya marina.
My friend Eliot first told me about this unassuming, uncommercialized beach, and we’ve been hooked ever since. Clean, great facilities, inexpensive entrance fee, and often featuring amazing waves, Hof Zuk presents the Mediterranean at its finest.
On Friday, when we arrived, I ran directly into the surf with my seven-year-old sun Matan. Enticed by the breaking waves, I immediately decided to try my hand at some body surfing, a specialty I picked up from my days at Old Orchard Beach in Maine.
Either I forgot that I was still wearing my prescription sunglasses, or more likely, I thought that there was nothing to worry about and they would stay put on my face, and I dove into the first crashing wave I could find. And of course, when I got up from the decent ride it took me on, my glasses were no longer on my face.
Panicked, I search around where I was standing, but without my glasses, I really couldn’t see anything inside the water. I called out to Matan, who called to my wife and my other kids. And after explaining what happened to the group of bather around me, they eagerly offered to to help. But there were no black sunglasses floating around, or on the bottom of the knee-deep water where I thought they had fallen.
I walked straight toward shore, hoping that the tide had pushed them in, but they were nowhere to be found, nor had anyone turned them in to the lifeguard.
I walked back out into the water, but my orientation was getting skewed, and I wasn’t sure exactly where I had finished my surf ride.
Meanwhile, in a show of Israeli gung ho support, my small support crew had voluntarily turned into about 25 people, and we all scoured the waters and sea floor to no avail. After about 20 minutes, people began drifting off, and I too decided to give it 5 more minutes and then head back to the surf.
Kicking myself in the head for being so stupid to go into the water with prescription sunglasses, I walked around in gradually enlarged circles, kicking my toes into the ocean floor. Suddenly, when I was about to give up, my big toe felt a stick emerging from the sand. Just as I was about to bend down to pick it up, a wave came and forced me off my position.
I poked around some more and found the stick again, bent down and picked it up, and discovered it was an eyeglass arm – and attached to it was the rest of my glasses! I felt like had found a treasure at the bottom of the sea, and I had. Fixing the slightly crooked arm, and placing the glasses on my face, 20/20 vision never looked so good.
Finally ready to surf some more, I ran back out into the deep water. But first, I went to shore and deposited the glasses with my wife
Foto Friday
Harry’s already written about his annoyance with the recent New York Times article on Tel Aviv — with its fairly dismissive mention of Jerusalem — but it did get me to go back and look at the article again, with its simply fabulous photos of Tel Aviv, taken by veteran New York Times photographer Rina Castelnuovo.
Rina is Israeli-born, and has been working for the Times for some 25 years, while her husband, Jim Hollander, is another great photographer who works for Reuters. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Rina off and on throughout the years, although our work together tends to focus on real estate and great homes in Israel, which isn’t quite as creative or stimulating as most of her regular work.
Here are a few more pieces taken from her shoot in Tel Aviv, some shots that didn’t make it into the NYT slide show, but showing just how perfectly she has her finger on the pulse that is the Israeli beach experience in the summer.
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