Courtyard neighborhoods are

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

neighborhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...

s built in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

and

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The inward-facing and defensible traditional urban housing of the

Near East The ''Near East''; he, המזרח הקרוב; arc, ܕܢܚܐ ܩܪܒ; fa, خاور نزدیک, Xāvar-e nazdik; tr, Yakın Doğu is a geographical term which roughly encompasses a transcontinental region in Western Asia, that was once the hist ...

, ordinarily occupied by an

extended family An extended family is a family that extends beyond the nuclear family of parents and their children to include aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins or other relatives, all living nearby or in the same household. Particular forms include the stem ...

, was adapted in these cases to serve a close-knit but genealogically unrelated community.

Description

Courtyard neighborhoods were built around a large

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary ...

. A surrounding wall protected against hostile outsiders. Most of the houses were close together, with one gap that was easy to defend. The courtyard typically holds a neighborhood

cistern A cistern (Middle English ', from Latin ', from ', "box", from Greek ', "basket") is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by t ...

. Such neighborhoods reflected the residents' communal organization. Typically, the apartments surrounding the courtyard were small (usually a studio apartment for each family), pushing many household tasks into the courtyard. In Jerusalem each family had one laundry day every two weeks. Hand-washing the clothing consumed many hours. That day the housewife cooked only for her household.

Neighborhoods

The Jerusalem neighborhood of

Nachlaot Nachlaot ( he, נחלאות, also ''Naḥlaʾoth'') is a cluster of 23 courtyard neighborhoods in central Jerusalem surrounding the Mahane Yehuda Market. It is known for its narrow, winding lanes, old-style housing, hidden courtyards and many smal ...

(now known as part of the extended Lev Ha'Ir borough) consists of 23 historical courtyard neighborhoods. In Tel Aviv the classic example is the neighborhood of

Neve Tzedek Neve Tzedek ( he, נְוֵה צֶדֶק, נווה צדק, ''lit.'' Abode of Justice) is a neighborhood located in southwestern Tel Aviv, Israel. It was the first Judaism, Jewish neighborhood to be built outside the old city of the ancient port of ...

References

Neighborhoods in Israel Nachlaot Neighborhoods of Tel Aviv *neighborhood Jewish communities {{Israel-stub