We thought we'd take an opportunity to give you a unique perspective of our neighborhood. One of the largest neighborhoods in Haifa, Hadar stretches from the commercial district near the port, about halfway up the mountain. We live in the upper reaches of Hadar and have a great view of the city below us. Hadar is a very diverse area and our street in particular is very mixed. There are Russians, Christian Arabs, Jews, Ethiopians, Baha'i, and several ex-pats. This makes for some interesting interactions and great people watching!
Despite being a narrow, one-way road, our street is a major thoroughfare connecting two major roads that go up and down the mountain. This provides an added dimension of chaos and amusement. In addition to the usual delivery and garbage trucks, everything from tow-trucks to ambulances to tour buses (and even the occasional off-duty city bus) squeeze by our apartment - and no, there's not a lot of room. One of our friends was asked by a bus driver to help by turning in the side mirrors of numerous cars so he could fit around a particularly tight corner.
There are always a few old Russian ladies sitting outside our building on a bench, not sure what they are talking about - maybe world peace or whichever vodka is on sale. They don't even get up when the watermelon truck drives by on a hot summer day yelling through a megaphone loud enough to wake the dead. One day I watched as two men parallel-parked a car with a dead battery (impressive!). The neighborhood shul, just a few doors down, even held evening services on the sidewalk one Shabbat.
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| The watermelon truck and some creative parking |
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| Parallel parking a dead car. I don't know how they managed this with only two people! |
All in all, it's a great place to live. There's never a dull moment! Hillel street is really a microcosm of Haifa, and Israel as a whole, and allows us to immerse ourselves in the vibrant culture and atmosphere
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