Tel Aviv's Carmel Market

Carmel Market -- Tel Aviv, Israel

The market is bordered by Allenby Street and Magen David Square and the market is principally located along Carmel Street and apparently has expanded considerably over time.  It is open daily except Saturday (Shabbat) and sells mostly food but also a variety of items from beautifully made crafts to clothing and “junk”.  A shopper's paradise and a less-than-enthusiastic shopper's hell.  

In the early 1920s the nearby neighborhood called Kerem HaTeimanim, literally 'the vineyard of the Yemenites’, started its own marketplace which was called “HaKerem”, or "the vineyard".

Heading down the aisle shoulder to shoulder
with hordes of locals and tourists

Arthur Rupin, a Zionist leader began to turn the small neighborhood into a bustling commercial center. Noticing its potential and impact, the Tel Aviv municipality, with Meir Dizengoff at its helm, encouraged its growth and permanence further by changing its name officially to Shuk HaCarmel, or the Carmel Market, renaming the road HaCarmel Street and allowing for permanent buildings and renovations within the alloted space.  There are tiny stores selling pet supplies, coffee, prepared foods, even a small beer bar, and many others.  These shops are behind the market stalls that somehow fold up (somewhere) on Friday night in advance of the Saturday closing. 

During Israel’s austerity period of the 1950s, the Carmel Shuk rose to great prominence as the best and most direct source of local, fresh produce. Efforts by the municipality to move the market to a more central location in the city failed in the 1960s and 1970s with locals preferring the market’s intimate and authentic neighborhood charm. And as terrorist attacks tore through the heart of public Israeli life in the 1990s and early 2000s, the open market place suffered a downturn in visitors. But in recent years, as the interest in local produce, outdoor experiential shopping, and blue-and-white purchases increased, as did the number of visitors and vendors to the Shuk.  The walkway is covered.  There are other markets in Tel Aviv (the Port, and near Jaffa) but this one is sprawling and centrally located in the middle of downtown.

Flower vendor booth

All in all this was not my fav destination here in Tel Aviv.  The market is always very crowded and hot (except for one tiny air conditioned coffee shop), boasts many competing smells (and those that won the competition were not the most pleasant), and almost every sale was preceded by a vigorous bargaining session - sometimes not the nicest interaction.  Fortunately, Danny did most of the market visits so I was there only a few times, mostly buying a fig or two (and arguing that I did not want a box full, just one or two - the vendor was very unhappy about that).  Not the most relaxing experience, but somehow, the place continued to draw us in - literally the whole city goes there and certainly the prices were lower than in stores, and there was no large supermarket to be found in any case.

Interesting fact - there are NO decent bananas to be had in Tel Aviv - we saw a few but the selection was pretty awful and they were either bright green or already black, quite sad really.  So we have to forego our banana a day habit for the time being.  And after the literally tons of strawberries for sale daily in Berlin, none of those here either (we missed them a LOT).

Juiceman

Spice Vendor

National Underwear?