030 Need for Speed
Tonight, Tel Aviv will see thousands of singles running across town. This running event is titled Singles Run: Tel Aviv Love Race and is sponsored by the Israeli sports television channel. Is it right to mix the two? Love and sport? It seems that young men and women in their best athletic outfits are ready to answer, yes, they are not afraid to sweat in front of their potential love interest.
This evening, September 18th, 2025, Tel Aviv will launch its third edition of the Singles Race catered to sporty adults looking for love. They will be running for at least five kilometers, with the more professional runners reaching ten. All races will start at the Tel Aviv Lighthouse - a 1930s landmark at the river mouth of HaYarkon River, not far from the local power plant on one side and the Tel Aviv Port on the other. The lighthouse no longer operates, as large vessels en route to Israel drop their anchors elsewhere, but a few years ago it was reopened as a coffee place in what soon became one of the most romantic spots in the city.
Indeed, if you’re meeting for a first date, what better view can you get other than the sun setting into the gushing waters of the Mediterranean? The sea breeze makes you feel a bit more comfortable during the hot summer making the evening hours into pure magic. After all runners finish the race back at the starting point, they’ll be able to participate in different speed dating events with organizers’ hopes for the best matchmaking experience. The famous Israeli rapper known by his stage name Tuna will give a performance to close the event.
I was thinking about the fact that a performance by Tuna was chosen as the climax of Tel Aviv’s Singles Run. Of all Israeli music performers, his lyrics show little faith in a committed relationship. Take his song “You Loved Me” for example, freely translated: “With the self-confidence of a child / I had no example / of how to sledge / Whatever you give - it comes back / It's the pendulum effect / Bonnie and Clyde / a defect and a curly head / She closed her heart / I closed the door / Each one to his own road… / You loved me / You left me / You found someone else/ And so have I / Everything is forgotten / A temporary affair / And it's good that way / On the other hand / The sun doesn't shine on me”.
Well, I hope that all participants of the Tel Aviv Singles Run will fare much better. It’s not easy to find love in a big city and I do hope that running as a hobby will help in merging singles into couples, especially in Tel Aviv, the city with the sound of love nailed into its name - te-LOVE-iv, right?
My name is Tomer Chelouche and I've been guiding tours in Tel Aviv since 2008. I started out of fascination with my family history - the Chelouche family was one of the founding families of Tel Aviv. My ancestors built this city - and I'm telling its story.
The best way to get to know Tel Aviv better is by purchasing one of my audio tours. Here's one way to do just that -
Jerusalem Boulevard is the main walkway of Jaffa - the old port city dating back to biblical times. The boulevard was a symbol of Jaffa’s modernization in the beginning of the 1900s. Not far from there lies the area that foreshadowed the city’s expansion from within its ancient walls, that is the American-German Colony.
You can use Tel Aviv’s tram system to reach Jerusalem Boulevard - the starting point of my audio tour walking you through Jaffa’s American-German Colony. I’ll show you to the wooden-looking houses that hint back to the settlers who arrived here more than 150 years ago all the way from Maine, USA. A group of devoted Christians, they wanted to settle in the Holy Land, in order to hasten the second coming of Jesus Christ. It’s quite off the beaten track, so even locals would struggle to tell you where it is exactly, not to mention sharing the story behind it.
The Americans who came to settle in Jaffa were replaced with German Templars - an interesting religious group that influenced the Land of Israel tremendously in the modern era, but their story often goes untold because it's not part of the main historical narrative nurtured in Israeli culture, which puts more stress on Jewish settlements. Not only will you be visiting one of the most beautiful spots in the city, but you’ll also have my narration whispering in your ear about characters such as the American Holy Land Explorer Rola Floyd, the German Kaiser Wilhelm the Second and Russian aristocrat Baron von Ustinov. This one is for the history buffs.
If you come here on a Friday, you can visit the newly opened market, where local vendors sell their specially made products, such as home grown plants, home made granola and more. The market is located at Beit Immanuel, one of the stops in my audio tour, so you can easily stop in the middle to visit the market and then continue along.
You can make sure you've downloaded my American-German Colony audio tour before you head out, or you can download it on the go if you're set with a data package allowing for uninterrupted internet access. There's a link in the show notes to purchase my audio tour -
A Jaffa Tour: The Story of its American-German Colony
If you have any questions - you’ll find all the ways to contact me on telaviv.tours (telaviv as one word, no space, no hyphen) and there’s a link in the show notes for your digital convenience.
Next week, Tel Aviv, and Israel as a whole, and the entire Jewish World, will celebrate Rosh HaShana - the Jewish New Year. This is just the start of the Autumn holidays, with Rosh HaShana being just a precursor to Yom Kippur and Sukkot. All around, it’s a two week period in celebration of starting anew. Do make sure that your visiting plans are adjusted to the special opening times of the Jewish High Holy Days. Even in secular Tel Aviv, this time of the year is highly regarded. It’s also a great time to walk about town and feel it.
So what will you feel when you visit Tel Aviv? I find this to be a good opportunity to try and describe what the city feels like. Hopefully, by telling you what you hear and see and smell, I’ll offer you the best reasons to come and sense everything on your own -
On your first walk through the streets, you’ll notice that the colours are more intense than usual. The sun lights this part of the Earth in a more striking manner, making it necessary to wear sunglasses. Tel Avivians are used to sunglasses as Londoners are always carrying an umbrella.
Walking on the boardwalk, or the beach promenade, you’re constantly caressed by sea breezes running along your skin. Wooden planks in some parts of the promenade creak under joggers’ shoes and rollerblades. The air feels salty as the breeze carries salt from the Mediterranean. In the afternoon hours, it’s hard to squeeze in between so many people jogging along the seafront, many of whom are young adults in fantastic physical shape, as the city is considered a magnet for singles looking for their life partner, and you better be in shape if you’re actively dating people.
At the beaches, sand ranges from pale cream to warm honey. Waves break steadily, producing a consistent rolling sound, while sea birds call from above every so often. Children’s laughter rises from small clusters playing near the water. The breeze carries the scent of sunscreen and faint traces of seaweed.
On the streets, the low hum of traffic mixes with the clatter of bicycles. Israeli drivers are prone to use their car horns more than they should, so the streets can get loud from time to time. Electric scooters beep as they zoom by while some of the pedestrians are legging trollies behind them, creating tremendous racket when passing over cobblestones. But the loudest sounds are probably heard at the Carmel Market - the main market street in Tel Aviv. Vendors standing over the most colourful displays of fruits and vegetables call out prices, their voices rising and falling as they try to attract shoppers, mostly in Hebrew and sometimes with broken English phrases.
During daytime you’d be drawn to the scents of coffee and pastries at a local bakery or coffee place. A constant sound reaches your ears from the espresso machine working at full capacity in the morning hours. In the evening hours the mood changes, as well as the sensory experience. Rooftop bars produce music, often electronic, layered with muffled conversations. Streetlights cast pale amber pools on pavements and buildings, with windows reflecting soft white and yellow light. The Mediterranean is dark, with waves breaking quietly and occasionally producing higher-pitched splashes against the sand.
Thanks for listening and you’ll hear from me again when the next episode comes out next week.Until then - I am Tel Aviv tour guide Tomer Chelouche, signing off and hoping to see you soon in Tel Aviv.
