A look inside a Crusader edifice (apparently once a fortress) dating back roughly 600 years. It hides beneath Kedumim Square and illustrates the strata of construction characterizing Jaffa throughout its history. The building is divided into different halls, some of which were built during the Ottoman period and allegedly served as a harem belonging to a senior Turkish official. In the 1970s and 1980s it housed a popular club called The Cave, part of which was converted into a club called The Dungeon some years later. It is currently occupied by a theater and café.

The architect Rotem Zeevi leads this tour of the historic cemetery in Jaffa, normally closed to the public. Zeevi will show participants parts of the cemetery which have been rehabilitated, as well as gravestones that were recently uncovered as a result of the renovation works. She will recount the stories of the families and public figures buried in the cemetery, who collectively comprise a mosaic of the beginning of Jewish settlement in Tel Aviv-Yafo.

A visit at the apartment owned by the textile designer, Noa Wiedman. Part of this spacious and well-lit apartment was originally an Arab residence from the 1930s that was subdivided. Hints of its original design (traditional Arab liwan) can also be seen today in the decorative floor tiles and the beams descending from the ceiling. The furniture in the apartment was refurbished and reupholstered by Wiedman herself, and the various textile items were made by her.

Interior design: Ailon Gavish and Naama Steigman Gavish, Studio Twilight, 2011

A visit at the apartment belonging to the lighting designers Naama Steigman and Ailon Gavish, which is located in an old and unassuming Jaffa building. Renovated for the most part on their own, the apartment incorporates modest and creative solutions that place considerable emphasis on light fixtures, the distribution of light within the home, and its projection on the walls of the building as seen from within the apartment.

Original architects: unknown; Preservation and added wings architects: Muhlbauer-Eyal Architecture, 2013

Tours led by the architects Orit Muhlbauer-Eyal and Shay Naim, which will focus on a pair of buildings designated for preservation. They were built next to each other on Yehuda Hayamit Street during different periods and feature different construction styles – one is Jaffa modernist from the beginning of the 1930s (with a distinct eclectic influence), and the other an industrial facility dating back to the 1940s. The architects will talk about the complex renovation and preservation project involving both buildings, which entailed their redesign as condominiums located above retail storefronts, added floors and new wings, and the excavation of a parking garage – and all this while preserving the buildings` existing character and restoring the elements of the original structures.

An open house at a building constructed in 1892, which the painter Moshe Rosenthalis used as a studio from 1964 until his death in 2008. It currently houses a permanent exhibition of his works. It is a typical Jaffa building from the Ottoman period, with arched ceilings, large spaces and decorative windows, and was originally a residence for servants who worked for the director of Jaffa Port. The view that can be seen from the studio inspired Rosenthalis`s work and has been immortalized in many of his paintings.

A visit at the home of Gad Sassower, an entrepreneur who specializes in restoring homes designated for preservation. He will talk about his approach to preservation, according to which genuine preservation also involves preservation (or restoration if needed) of the building`s interior, including its plan and various details. Sassower will show visitors the home he lives in, whose restoration he worked on meticulously for nearly two years. It`s an imposing Jaffa home with a neoclassical façade that was apparently built in the 19^th century, later serving as the Italian Consulate during the British Mandate period. The house is full of restored and preserved building elements, such as arched wooden windows, carved stone details, decorative floor tiles, hardware, etc. The tours will be conducted in English.

The Greater Tel Aviv-Yafo Community of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel invites you to two tours at one of the last untouched gems of urban nature still found in the area: a natural beach that serves as habitat for animals and plants, located on the outskirts of the city on the border with Bat Yam. The tour will also talk about the nearby gravel cliff which is in danger of collapse, as well as the abrasion tables (corroded gravel rocks) with their unique landscape, which are scheduled to become a marine nature reserve. The tour will end at the Christian and Muslim cemetery.

Participants must come equipped with walking shoes, water and hats.

Architect: Yitzhak Rappaport, 1936

A visit in the public areas of one of the most distinctive homes in the city - a spacious villa built in the International Style in the 1930s for Muhammed el-Rachim (Abu Hassan), a prominent Jaffa resident at the beginning of the 20^th century. Its plan was made by the architect Yitzhak Rappaport, a personal friend of Abu Hassan, who was asked to design the interior in an Oriental style. Reflecting the spirit of the times, the villa was planned as a totality, namely as a whole and meticulous creation that encompassed every piece of furniture and all the finishing details. The house still contains original Art Deco furniture, items produced by master carpenters, and other architectural elements characteristic of the period, such as the banister. The interior walls are currently decorated with works of contemporary French art.

Tours in Hebrew will be led by the architect Oded Rappaport, the son of the architect Yitzhak Rappaport who designed the building. 

A chance to learn about the history of agriculture in Tel Aviv and hear the story behind Shalem Farm. It was established in 1949 in the eastern part of the city for the purpose of upgrading and producing seeds, and was an initiative of the company, Hazera Ltd. The farm was run and operated by families of kibbutz members, who were experienced farmers and had been recruited for the task in order to supply quality seeds to other farms in the young country. The families lived in houses designed for them by the Sharon-Idelson architecture firm (Arieh Sharon and Benjamin Idelson), who worked for the kibbutz movement. The two-family homes were at the time considered state-of-the-art due to their design and construction as communal residences where the children slept at home and not in separate children`s houses. Documentation relating to the farm and its different buildings is currently being prepared by the Mimar Naor Architecture & Conservation firm. The buildings on the farm are designated for preservation and will become part of a visitors center at Arial Sharon Park. The tours will also present the experimental plots project as well as the seed bank used to conserve wild Land of Israel plants at the site.

The Tel Aviv Lighthouse is opening its doors to visitors. Come and learn about the historic lighthouse that was erected in 1936 as part of the facilities built at the first Hebrew port. The lighthouse served as a beacon for ships entering the port and warned them of the source of the Yarkon River estuary.

During opening hours, visitors will be able to go up to the balconies, but not to the top of the lighthouse.

Renovation and building addition architect: Ruti Bar-On Gil, 2011

A brief look at an apartment designed by the architect for her own family, whose renovation was completed just recently. It is an example of a reorganization that totally transformed this two-exposure apartment situated in a housing development, originally designed by Rechter-Zarhi-Rechter.

The new design continues to benefit from the neighborhood`s main assets: the ample spaces and the surrounding trees.

 

A tour donated by the Discover Tel Aviv Center, Shalom Tower

Led by Tehila Koenigstein, the tour will highlight works of art created by Bezalel Academy teachers in the 1920s, which were inlaid in the facades of homes in the district known as Little Tel Aviv - creating a kind of open museum.  This unique collection was initiated by Meir Dizengoff, Tel Aviv`s first mayor, and Boris Schatz, the founder of Bezalel, hoping to give the first Hebrew city a uniform Jewish and Land of Israel character.