Tel Aviv Port ( he, נמל תל אביב, Namal Tel Aviv) is a commercial and entertainment district in northwest

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 ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

along the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

History

PikiWiki Israel 2778 Tel Aviv port 1933-4 נמל תל אביב 1933-4

in 1933 the

Levant Fair The Levant Fair (Hebrew: יריד המזרח; Yarid HaMizrach) was an international trade fair held in Tel Aviv during the 1920s and 1930s. History Early years One of the early precursors to the Levant Fair, an exhibition titled the "Exhibiti ...

was opened next to the waterfront area that would soon become the Tel Aviv Port.

Active port and decline

In the wake of the general strike of the Arabs of

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

at the outbreak of their 1936–39 revolt, an alternative was needed for

Jaffa Port Jaffa Port ( he, נמל יפו, ; , ) is an ancient port situated on the Mediterranean Sea. It is located in Old Jaffa within Jaffa, Tel Aviv, Israel. The port serves as a fishing harbour, a yacht harbour, and as a tourist destination. It offer ...

The new port, founded by Otzar Mif'alei Yam (lit. "Treasure-of-Sea Works"), opened on a small scale in 1936, and was finally completed and inaugurated at its current size on February 23, 1938. Aviva and Shmuel Bar-Am, ''At Tel Aviv Port, once the gateway into the Land of Israel''

Times of Israel ''The Times of Israel'' is an Israeli multi-language online newspaper that was launched in 2012. It was co-founded by Israeli journalist David Horovitz, who is also the founding editor, and American billionaire investor Seth Klarman.

, December 19, 2015 The port remained fully operational for less than two years. The outbreak of

the Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

put an end to its civilian use, as the British Navy took over the facilities. After the end of the war in Europe, an attempt to reactivate the port remained unsuccessful due to the lack of shipping at the time. During the civil war between Jews and Arabs from November 1947 and until

Israel's declaration of independence The Israeli Declaration of Independence, formally the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel ( he, הכרזה על הקמת מדינת ישראל), was proclaimed on 14 May 1948 ( 5 Iyar 5708) by David Ben-Gurion, the Executive ...

in May 1948, as well as in the ensuing

1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 (or First) Arab–Israeli War was the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. It formally began following the end of the British Mandate for Palestine at midnight on 14 May 1948; the Israeli Declaration of Independence had ...

, the Jewish, then Israeli forces imported a substantial amount of equipment and weapons via the Tel Aviv port. After the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the port operated on a partial basis and was finally closed down on October 25, 1965, when its operations moved to the newly built

Ashdod Port The Port of Ashdod ( he, נמל אשדוד) is one of Israel's three main cargo ports. The port is located in Ashdod, about 40 kilometers south of Tel Aviv, adjoining the mouth of the Lachish River. Its establishment significantly enhanced the c ...

. After that followed a period of decay, and by the end of the century the area was used by day as a low-key shopping place for tiles and plumbing supplies, while at night it attracted prostitutes and drug addicts.

'Namal' entertainment area

A change came with the appointment of architect

Orna Angel Orna Angel ( he, אורנה אנג'ל, born 29 July 1962) is an Israeli former politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Labor Party for one week in February 2006. Biography Born in Jerusalem, Angel gained a bachelor's degree in ...

at the helm of the Marine Trust Company that owns the port area. After completely overhauling the infrastructure by 2002, the administration attracted shop owners to move to the upgraded area by charging token rents. An open competition for the landscaping of the space around the buildings was organised in 2003, and by 2008 the new boardwalk in wavy shapes evocative of the sand dunes that once stood at this place, was opened to the public. As a result of the transformation, the Tel Aviv Port, known in short as the Namal, has become the most popular attraction in Tel Aviv with 4.3 million visitors annually. In 2011, it was announced that the site would be developed to become a major tourist site with recreational and cultural venues similar to

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Awards and recognition

In 2010 the public space development project by Mayslits Kassif Architects, who transformed the space around the restored port buildings, was awarded the Rosa Barba European Landscape Prize, seen as the most prestigious European award for landscape architecture.''Rosa Barba: International Biennial of Landscape Architecture Barcelona''
Landezine – Society for Promotion of Landscape Architecture,

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

, October 2, 2010 The project was the winner of a 2003 public competition, at which it was presented by Mayslits Kassif Architects in collaboration with Galila Yavin.''Tel Aviv Port: Mayslits Kassif Architects''
Landezine – Society for Promotion of Landscape Architecture,

, November 10, 2010

References

External links