The Tayelet Nahariya at Night

Nahariya has a tayelet, a promenade, that stretches along the beach, south toward Akko and north toward Akhziv beach. The promenade, constructed in various sections of brick, cobblestone and pavement is well-lit and filled with people day and night.

I went walking at dusk, walking about two miles south on the promenade from where I was staying and then turning and returning back north. I was impressed by the numbers and variety of people along the tayelet.

People were running and jogging, some in pairs and some solo, walking in groups, couples, or singly or just hanging out at different spots along the tayelet. Many were walking their dogs, and later in the evening, after the dogs left, the cats began to emerge.

The tayelet is more than just a walkway. There are activity areas alongside it. There are some areas with playground equipment for children to play on. There are others with exercise equipment, and still others for restaurants and bars. Alongside it are also benches, lounge chairs, swing sets, and other places to sit and rest.

As I walked, I imagined the stories behind the people I passed. I group of teenage girls was surrounding a phone and giggling. I assume it was about a boy. A second group of girls appeared to be consoling one of their group. I also assumed that was about a boy.

I saw an older man with a a brace around his ankle stand up from a bench he was sharing with his wife and began to demonstrate some dance moves. I’m not sure if he was showing her that he still had it or was demonstrating that his ankle was doing much better.

Some couples seemed to be using the walk as a means of catching up on the days events. Families here and there seemed to ignore the scowls of teens and tweens who clearly wanted to be anywhere else. One man appeared to be being chastised by what appeared to be members of his family and he apparently mounted his own defense. These conversations were in Hebrew, Russian, and even one in English.

Further down the tayelet, another older man had brought out a large speaker that was blaring music to whose time he was moving, tapping feet and moving his hands. He was having his own personal concert and the rest of us were just witnesses.

There was a father in a corner, just pushing a stroller back and forth, back and forth, following the familiar rhythm of putting a baby to sleep.

I saw several pairs of women jogging, one or two sets were obviouslly taking this fitness routine seriously with clenched jaws and eyes focused straight ahead. Others were jogging while talking and laughing.

At least one man walking was on his phone and I wondered if he really needed the phone to reach the other party, surely everyone else up and down the tayelet could hear his conversation clearly.

There were couples seated on the beach, half hidden in the shadows, others swinging quietly on swing sets, still others sitting on lounge chairs or ledges of the walkway. Some were laughing, others talking quietly, still others just sitting close and enjoying the evening.

In one area, a group of people were taking part in a fitness class with resistance bands. Not far away, another group was practicing handstands. A little farther down, two women were in one of the areas with exercise equipment working out to a fitness sound track. Not too far away in another area, men were tossing a medicine ball. And not too terribly far from them, another group of men were doing circuit training on the equipment in their area.

People were seated at restaurants and bars. The hookah bar seemed more crowded than many of those surrounding it. Still the hostesses for these places had that bored expression that told you they were counting the minutes until they could get out of there. The section of the boardwalk adjoining it still had children at play, riding model cars across the wooden slats of the boardwalk, gently pushed by mom or dad.

On my way back, the crowds had thinned, but it was still far from empty. There were fewer walkers and joggers, but couples and groups still gathered at the edges of the pavement. The moon was barely a crescent in the sky above. The only sounds were those of the waves crashing against the shore, of the occasional frog croaking in the grass, and of cats meowing in search of scraps.

As I returned to my apartment, I could see others begin to take their turn in traversing the tayelet.