From the Tayelet in Nahariya

Text and photos by Gabriel Mayer

Greetings from the northernmost reaches of ESRA. Our branch, ESRA North Coast/Nahariya is as far north as one can get; next stop is Lebanon. We are happy to let you know about our "state of the union;" taking into consideration the perils wrought by civilization, since our peripheries are being invaded by grey monolithic apartment buildings. Yikes! I still recall my first thoughts, when making my pilot trip over a decade ago - this place looks like a postcard.

Our branch, as well as the town, really a city, is dominated by its main attraction, which is the beachfront walk, better known as the Tayelet. From here spring many of the town's activities. From here too spring many of our calendar events. A few are reliably regular and serve as the framework of our activities calendar. First in mind, is the Wednesday Walkers, who even today - a near record cold shivering one - bravely strode out in timely fashion. We begin at 11:00 and start under The Sail, the most visible landmark of Nahariya from land or air. The Tayelet is a huge venue for a host of activates, with multiple children's playgrounds, restaurants and beachside fun. It is always vibrantly busy and used by throngs of locals as well as tourists.

And eats? Well, the restaurants are everywhere.

One of our other mainstay activities revolves around our photography club. While I show my non-winning photo of the Tayelet displayed at a photo contest, I will introduce you to the leader of our photo club, our visual master, Brian Dodds.

The ESRA Camera Club – North was started eighteen months ago for photographers in the area of Nahariya, Haifa and Karmiel to get together and explore the photo opportunities that abound. We meet approximately once every six weeks from October to June to participate in a photoshoot. After the photoshoot, participants submit several photos that are then collated into a display and review session held over Zoom. In this way, we learn from each other and improve our skills.

Over the past two summers we have also held a scavenger hunt. Participants are given a list of categories or genres to photograph within their own timeframe. At the end, each participant enters one photo in each category. Photos are judged by an online voting system with first, second and third place awarded.

We have members who use smartphones, simple point and shoot cameras up to sophisticated systems. As it turns out, some of these activities have been akin to trips and exploratory forays.

A few hundred meters to the east of the Tayelet is the intersection of Weizman Street and Haggaton Boulevard. This is, arguably. the busiest and most fashionable location in Nahariya. On one corner, we get together every Tuesday at noon for our "On the Veranda" meet and greet. The name derives from the fact that the event is located on the wooden porch of a restaurant. It is a laid-back way for Anglos to hang out in an informal setting.

We have an array of activities and a host of programming happening here in our branch. These were a sampling of these events, framing, and filling our calendar for the year.

Won't you check us out? Come, visit us.

Contact me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., tel: 050 709 5713