Lazy Bums & Egoists
Using a bike, walking or travelling by public transport is healthier in quite a few ways. And in parking space starved Tel Aviv it's also quicker.Jaffa however, has a lot of public parking spaces, and they happen to be free as well.
Jaffa is ideal for responsible car use: use it when you have no choice, otherwise go public, by bike or walk. As many of Jaffa's people are not wealthy, car ownership is lower than in Tel Aviv.
Many houses and streets in Jaffa have been torn down over the last 30 years and little was built to replace the lovely old houses once gracing its ancient streets. As a result, there is much parking space.
Raziel street (once known by its original name of "Boustrous" street, after the idealistic peaceloving Christian Palestinian business man who founded the first houses along that street) is in the northern part of Jaffa.
Graced by some lovely old houses, a home for immigrant elderly and a few rennovated buldings, there are also a number of very mediocre restaurants mostly frequented by well-to-do Tel Avivians preferring the "Jaffa Lite Experience", that is, saying they went to "authentic" Jaffa without really going there.
Really really close by there are a few large public parking areas, where they can park their cars for free, a rarity in Tel Aviv, where normally one has to pay a lot of money for the "pleasure" of parking ones car.
However, the creeps frequenting these restaurants, are too lazy to walk 30 m. As a result, they tend to double park along Raziel street, creating horrid traffice jams.
Another nasty habit is ofcourse parking in busstops. Especially during the darker hours (which start early in winter) it's very difficult for young children waiting for the bus. The cars hide them from the sight of the busdriver who then passes the bus stop without stopping.
As a result, the kids run on to the street when they notice the bus is about to arrive, thereby endangering themselves.
Why? Because some asshole (excuse the language) was too bloody lazy to walk a little and instead parked his (or her) car right in front of the clearly marked bus stop.
This happens daily.
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5 comments:
There will always be lazy bums who park where they shouldn't. If the towing was even half as vehemently enforced in Yafo as it is in the rest of Tel Aviv, those same bums would only do it once. The problem isn't the opportunists who park where they can (well, not only them, but the lack of enforcement.
And don't even get me started on buses that don't pull into their bus lanes but prefer to hold up the entire city while they let their passengers on and off in the middle of the street, even when there are no cars parked in the bus stop ... (/end rant) :)
True, but this busstop specifically, apparently due to its closeness to a restaurant called "Itzik HaGadol" is always hijacked by cars belonging to lazy bum owners. Not once or twice, almost always/
And you are right, the police don't do a thing about it.
It almost seems as if they are on Itzik's payrol, passing by but never seeing a thing.
So what restaurants do you recommend for good food and the real Jaffa experience?
We can always vote with our feet...
Abu Marwan which is located in Mendes France street, just off Yefet (on the right, opposite the Abu Hilwe Butchery) or the Turkish Hummous place of no name. It is on Yefet, opposite the "Green House" (HaBayit HaYarok), close to the corner with HaDudaim street, but don't go there on saturdays. You can recognize it by the bright orange walls.
Abu Nader, underneath the "Ma'am" building on Yefet street (next to the Yefet bridge over Yehuda HaYamit street) is not bad either.
If you want a really special experience, (but it costs a lot of money and only if ordered in advance) go to "Bayit Mispar 3" (House three) where Mahmoud specializes in Palestinian elite quisine.
This last one isn't really a restaurant, but a very special Ottoman period home where you can eat with a small group of people, if ordered in advance.
Some people swear by Kahil on the little square of that name, off Yefet.
The best pitas are to be bought (early mornings only) on Kedem street, close to the Hasan Arafe primary school. Another option is along Yefet, just before the Green house. Or on Sharey Nikanor.
Best cookies & ma'amoul: Kahil at the junction of Mendes France Street with Yefet.
Best coffee: Tiran (if you like "Turkish" coffee" or Cafe Paul for all other types.
Wines: all the Hinnawis and "Ish HaYayin.
Meats: i'm a vegetarian, but some swear by the many Hinnawis, others by Abu Hilwe.
Olives: i make my own....
Tfadalu
I could go on, but some things are a matter of taste.
Yudit,
Thanks for all the tips!
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