Ashdod Travelers guide

Ashdod | Sightseeing 86 Now you can choose whether to continue to the next part of the tour on foot or by car. All together there is about twenty minutes of intermittent. If it is an especially hot day - it is recommended that you use your car from here until the end of the route. In the event you chose to ride, it is advised that you park your car in the Gan Elisheva parking lot (free of charge), and from there continue on foot to "the Californias" and then backtrack, or to give up this part of the route entirely and to continue straight to the monument for fallen Navy soldiers. If you chose the walking option, please follow these instructions: Backtrack on Yair street, turn left on Jabotinsky street and then immediately right to Yair street, which further on changes its name to Moshe Marzuk and Shmuel Azar. Cross the cultivated garden down the street and at the intersection with HaVradim street, you can notice a few of Ashdod's first settlers homes to your left - the famous California structures , which earned the nickname "The Californias". More about: The Californias In the early years of the establishment of the city of Ashdod, 22 families from Morocco, Egypt and Romania resided in the northern part of Quarter Aleph (1), in temporary housing. The elongated California buildings replaced the initial transit camp shacks and were considered by the first settlers as a real upgrade, since unlike the shacks in the transit camp - the Californias were wired for electricity. The California buildings also housed Ashdod's first medical clinic, the first bank (Bank Hapoalim), an Egged bus stop and more, and Aleph (A) Center and the local council building with the water tower on top were built across from them. Should you wish to take a closer look at the Californias, continue a little on HaVradim street, and after that backtrack straight on the street, which later on changes its name to Shavei Zion. A little before the intersection of Shavei Zion & Rogozin, in the commercial center to the right, Ashdod's first movie theatre- Dagon Theater - was located . From the time the movie theatre was established in 1961 by the late Yitzhak Maimon, it attracted all of the region's residents, who came to watch films (black & white) as well as shows, performances and cultural events that took place there. The best artists of the time performed here - from Yaffa Yarkoni to Zvika Pik. This movie