Tel Aviv's Sarona neighborhood. Photo by George Dement, courtesy Creative Commons
Tel Aviv’s Sarona neighborhood is discovering a new life. Originally a colony of the German Templers (a messianic offshoot of Lutheranism), Sarona’s distinctly European-looking stucco buildings, with their tiled roofs and wooden shutters, actually predate the founding of Tel Aviv, which has grown up around them.
“The so-called White City of Tel Aviv was deemed a World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2003.”
The quarter’s centerpiece is the Beit Hava’ad—the Committee House—which, after a checkered history (including seven years as Nazi headquarters) is seeing a new life. The restaurant Claro is one of many new businesses that have recently opened in this busy area, which includes toney boutiques (from young designers to established couturiers), bars (from home brews to fine vintage wines), eateries (from sushi to pizza to falafel), and a huge, bustling indoor Sarona Market, where produce and products from all over the world can be purchased.
