Following a tough competition between the mega technology giants of Apple, Facebook and Google, it was finally announced today that Google won the heart of the famous Israeli startup company called Waze. Waze is a social traffic & navigation app based on the world’s largest community of drivers sharing real time road info.
According to Bloomberg the acquisition is of $1.1 billion, making it one of the largest purchases in Israeli history. According to the speculations Waze preferred to be acquired by Google and not by Apple or Facebook, as Google has already a development Campus in Tel Aviv which has a headcount of several hundreds of employees.
Waze is one of the few companies out there that is bringing that kind of search together with actual map data and a social layer, so now the marriage had been announced: Google Maps and Waze, outsmarting traffic together.
so here is a nice collection including some of my favorites photos of Israel which i really feel attached to. Most of these are of Tel Aviv and old Jaffa, but also of Jerusalem. Architecture and cityscape photography always amaze me with its power to reveal and expose the land we walk upon, especially when it is related to history and great stories from the bible.
Below is a focused Tel Aviv photo collection of Tel Aviv – every image is clickable.
its Israel independence day 2013, so tears of sorrow and happiness are mixed together in these precious and sensitive moments.
The foundation of Israel is an amazing story, and sometimes it is very close to a science fiction story.
This is a story of faith and imagination, a story of pioneers who followed their dreams, who envisioned a place on the planet that would be a home for a small tribe that many years did not have a safe home.
its Israel independence day 2013, so tears of sorrow and happiness are mixed together in these precious and sensitive moments.
The foundation of Israel is an amazing story, and sometimes it is very close to a science fiction story.
This is a story of faith and imagination, a story of pioneers who followed their dreams, who envisioned a place on the planet that would be a home for a small tribe that many years did not have a safe home.
Israel full power
Today we can can clearly say: it is a miracle.
and we need to remember – to always follow our dreams.
As part of a new project initiated by the municipality of Tel Aviv, residents and travelers will receive a free WiFi connection beginning in March 2013. Travelers at Tel Aviv will be able to access the free WiFi service on a computer, tablet or smartphone with a bandwidth of at least 20 Mb.
The free internet access will be available near 80 free WiFi hotspots at major locations around the Tel Aviv, including the city’s beach promenade, the Hatikvah market, Florentin street, the Hayarkon park and old Jaffa, as well as major city streets, commercial centers, parks and tourism sites.
The speed provided will be around 5 megabytes so it would limit any major downloading and file sharing as well as pornography and gambling websites. This is a major step of Tel Aviv towards an advanced city government, which is adapting itself to the technological world.
Tel Aviv is the first city in Israel to operate a free WiFi network in public spaces.
Lately the city was nominated by The Wall Street Journal as one of the three most innovative cities in the world .
Tel Aviv – way to go!
interesting enough, last week the famous “Lonely Planet” had listed Tel Aviv as one of the world’s top ten brilliant beach cities.
Just to be accurate, Tel Aviv was listed in the 7 place while Lonely Planet ranked Barcelona as number one, followed by Cape Town, Rio de Janeiro, Tangier, Sydney, Valencia, Dubai, Miami and England’s Brighton.
and even more interesting, “Lonely Planet” mentions that Tel Aviv is the total opposite of Jerusalem: ” Tel Aviv is the total flipside of Jerusalem, a modern Sin City on the sea rather than an ancient holy city on a hill “.
It is very interesting that the magazine editors bother to bite and note at the same time that Tel Aviv is not Jerusalem, which is as if they were saying that Miami is not Seattle. And they wrote about Miami, but did not mentioned that Miami is not Seattle. They also did not write Miami is not New York, and not even that Brighton is not London.
So why did they insist on writing that Tel Aviv is not Jerusalem?
But the most important point is that they have not forgotten to write that Tel Aviv (which is not as Jerusalem! said that already?) is a modern sin city (unlike Jerusalem!). Hinting about sex always brings some sort of traffic…
Dont we all have dreams ? and aspirations ? and what about ambitions ? yes, we do.
and there’s the spark that leads us, that pushes the envelope of our imagination, the spark that doesn’t allow us waste our limited time on earth, that blazes the trail that we walk upon – to follow our dreams.
and while many bang the drums like monkeys do, its time for each of us to make a difference, to hallucinate and to move forward.
is it a dream ?
No need to be pioneers, and no need to reinvent the wheel, just focus and follow our dreams. and vision.
the middle east is a big big desert and my town Tel Aviv which is a part of it, is as a result – a single season city. It has only one season – the summer.
Out of the 365 days there are exceptional 10 days, where some rain and wind are coming for a short visit, but most of the time its a huge summer city.
The winter season is the most romantic and the most beautiful time of the year. There are so many visuals and so many beautiful colors – not to be missed. Unlike the summer season which is visually monolithic with static scenes, the winter is an ever changing beauty queen.
a winter scene
The rivers flow, the sky is beautiful, the clouds has so many different formations and structures, the grass is super green, the air is fresh, people are less aggressive, everything slows down, and beauty is all around us. It is the most romantic time of year – a time to cuddle, to cherish, to explore the treasures that surround us and to enjoy the relaxed energy and tempo of this ultra short season.
Following a previous post about Google that launched earlier this month its most newest campus in Tel Aviv, these days an online poll conducted by the wall street journal and Citibank is going to determine the most Innovative city in the world.
Tel Aviv is pitted against world economic capital New York City and Medellin in the battle for the top spot. If Tel Aviv wins, the online poll will join a string of similar Internet award in the White City’s digital trophy rooster. Telavivians are seriously looking forward for it. The competition tests a city’s capacity to adapt and re-imagine itself and the municipality’s ability of forward thinking, as well as cities’ integration with and influence on global markets, culture and innovation, the Journal said.
This view is from west towards east, where the northern part of Tel Aviv can be viewed at the left side of the photo, and the old city of Jaffa (not shown) which is on the right side just where the shoreline ends.
Tel Aviv is an ever changing city with lots of cranes building around the clock a new city skyline. Now days it is a great tourist destination even more than Jerusalem.
Tel Aviv Memorabilia 