July 1 - Walkabout in Haifa

After yesterday's presentation on financials for our project, I passed on a night out dancing to get a much needed night of rest. When I awoke the next morning, I set out to see the city with my feet and wander with my eyes. I used a map of Haifa I picked up at the Technion and literally walked around the city along the coast. Near the cape, I came across what was labeled as "caves" on the map. It looked like an old settlement along the coast, a stone throw away from an oceanography institute and the near by train tracks. On the other side of the tracks were apartment complexes. As a train passed on the tracks, I marveled at the interesting juxtaposition of what once was and what is now, divided by a symbol of modernity.

Most of the ocean-facing coastline of Haifa was separated from buildings and roads by the railroad that runs along the coast line and through the Port of Haifa. I walked along the promenade (as indicated on the map) and found that much of it was still under construction. Blacktube housings poked up out of the ground, holing the wiring for future installments of lighting. Lookout points along the path lay unfinished with half-exposed wood frames waiting for planks to be laid down. As I walked on around the cape I found other other beaches I had read about in the Lonely Planet PDF for Haifa. These beaches looked more cramped and "dirtier" than the Camel beach that faced the ocean. On top of that, the housing and walkways along the waterfront looked less manicured. We had been told that, in Haifa, the property near the water is cheaper than the property on the hill, which goes against the real estate property logic that I was accustomed to. In addition to this, the demographics of these other areas was primarily Arab. Could it be, that the minorities of this society are placed by the construct of society in these "cheap" waterfront areas? With my very limited experience here and understanding of the socioeconomic dynamics, I can't say. But I was struck by the distinct difference in living quarters, upkeep, and infrastructure in these "other" areas.