Notes on the Geography of Israel: Tel Aviv

A brief scan of the commercial and residential landscapes of this city-on-the-dunes, created almost entirely in the 20th century.

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Tel Aviv from the seawall at Jaffa.

Coming closer, through the miracle of optics.

And closer still, to what might perhaps be mistaken for the skyline of an American city.

A cylindrical apartment building anticipates its own demise. that's what happens when you live surrounded by ancient ruins.

No irony here: the architect loved graph paper, and the photographer was too lazy to get out of his car.

Inside that reticulated masterpiece there's a shopping mall.

Here's another, at Petah Tikva, on the city's eastern outskirts.

Upscale flats in the central city. That slightly worn look is characteristic, as is the masking vegetation.

More of the same.

Grimmer housing, in South Jaffa. The building is a reminder of the days when kibbutzim starved on a diet of tomatoes. It's also a reminder of the Israeli fixation on living in the sun.