Carmel Market, Tel Aviv

There is such a wonderful rhythm to this market; early weekday mornings are quiet with only the vendors hurrying about, shoppers taking their time to inspect the produce or chat with the men behind the piles of lettuce, chives and radishes. Early afternoons tend to get busy with group tours tasting foods, tourists taking photos and later in the day people shop on the way home after work. Fridays are a wonderful mayhem; there is yelling, there are crowds, but there is also excitement, anticipation of some time off or a celebration of Shabbat.

The Carmel Market is one of my favorite places in Tel Aviv and while staying in Israel I try to walk through or shop there every day, sometimes even more than that. This is the place to shop for the sweetest strawberries, the tastiest 5% cream cheese that we love for breakfast, the freshest bread, the best challah, the silky-on-the-inside but heavenly crispy bureka, the juicy watermelon, the colorful and fragrant spices that we throw into our salads or when we want to add some excitement into plain rice.

A stroll through the market is a sensory overload, a wonderment for all the senses and a pick me up for the soul.

The Carmel Market runs the length of HaCarmel street from Magen David Square to the end of Carmalit. Most of the stalls are open from 8am until the early hours of the evening. On Friday it closes in the early afternoon and it stays closed on Saturday.

This is the place for your bureka needs.

As much as I love the main market street, it is really worth venturing out to the multitude of side streets for some excellent food. A separate post on that is coming up tomorrow.

Eerily silent and deserted on a Saturday.

Joanna

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