Friday evenings at Appolonia in Nof Yam

From the middle of May to the Friday before Rosh Hashana if you're looking for a unique musical experience, then I recommend Apollonia. It's one of the most beautiful settings in the country, always a lovely breeze, and a photographer's dream come true with the incredible sunsets. Every Friday two hours before sunset this lovely venue becomes a music hall for a variety of music that will suit most tastes and has become a family experience for many.

Hagi Yochanan is the manager of the Apollonia reserve and it was his idea to make use of the beautiful surroundings for music lovers. The program is now into its seventh year and all 320 available seats are sold every week. Each week there is a different choice of groups and types of music. Once a month they feature Irish music which has become a great favorite. But you can also hear themes from favorite movies, the 60's, the 70's, Simon and Garfunkle, Gypsy Jazz, Israeli Jazz, American folk, Joan Baez, songs of peace and love and many others. Hagi is always looking for new musical groups to add to his programs.

Apollonia is an archeological site that was reconstructed in 1996 and made into the park now situated along the coast just 20 km north of Tel Aviv. It was first inhabited more than 2500 years ago by Phoenicians. Those ancient mariners launched ships from the region in its battles to conquer Lebanon to the north. Under the Romans, what had been a settlement became a city of some size and reached it's zenith under Byzantine rule when it was called Souzasa and became the major port for the entire southern Sharon region and was an unfortified city. Glass making was a major industry during this period and there were many wine and olive presses.  In the seventh century the Muslims conquered the area and built a wall around the northern portion of the city and greatly reduced it's size. In the twelfth century the Christian Crusaders conquered the city after many attempts and built a huge fort, the remnants of which can still be seen today. It was in Christian hands for more than a hundred years before the Mamluk sultan Baybars conquered the region and forced the Crusaders to raze the entire city and so it remained until now.

All of the proceeds from the musical activities are used to refurbish and beautify the park. The atmosphere is always pleasant as are the air and the music.