This pedestrian part of Baron Rothschild street is a typical street of any district town of the Russian Empire at the late 19th century. It couldn't look different because it was built by the first settlers arrived from Russia. These were two groups from Kremenchug and Kharkov, 17 families who bought land in Turkish Palestine in order to create an agricultural settlement. They elected Zalman David Levontin, a native of Orsha from a Hasidic family, as their representative. People liked him for his fervent faith in the revival of the land of Israel. Even at geography lessons, Zalman David wondered: "If America's black slaves created their free state of Liberia in Africa, why don't we create our country in the land of the forefathers?". 3 days later, after the celebration of the feast called Purim, on March 9, 1882, Zalman David Levontin founded in Jaffa Vaad HaLutzey Yesod HaMaala (HeHalutz) – pioneers, which aimed to bring to life the idea of creating a settlement. Vaad Halutzim was a council of pioneers, and the words “Yasod haMaala” were taken from the Book of Ezra, dedicated to returning from Babylonian exile. That's how Purim of 1882 in Turkish Palestine in ancient Jaffa became a uniting moment for the Land of the Patriarchs and the envoy of Jews who survived a wave of terrible pogroms, which has swept across Russia after the assassination in 1881 of Alexander II, the Emperor.
This is a special tour and a unique route. Its difference from the usual city tour is that your mobile phone is the guide. As in every excursion, it takes time to get used to the tour guide, his style, rhythm and pathways. The only difference is that in this case, you are the storyteller, you are walking yourself and set the pace for yourself - all according to your style. Just give yourself time to get used to it and you will come to life with a story full of the vicissitudes of the lives of real people, a story about their joys and sorrows, a story in which urban legends rise from the past, instill hope and simply sums up: here it all began.