Giv`at Olga Travel Guide

4 more images

This is not the main public beach of Giv'at Olga. It is a more secluded public beach which is located at the center of a private residential complex called "Kfar Ha-Yam", which was built around it in a semi-circle. The beach is quite small and intimate, on a small cove under the cliffs.

I find it quite picturesque and inviting, provided it's not overcrowded. The whole area has been developed with a paved path leading almost all the way to the water, and a pleasant cafe-restaurant (also accessible for the disabled).

At one end of the beach the rocks have formed miniature lagoons suitable for children.

3 more images

Olga Hankin was a celebrity in Palestine of the 1920s and 1930s. She was the wife of Joshua Hankin, who bought thousands of acres of land for the Jewish National Fund (JNF). She was also a well known midwife, a fearless woman who made house calls all over and helped deliver hundreds of babies. Sadly, she never got to have a baby of her own. At first glance Olga and Joshua Hankin seemed an unlikely couple: Olga was 13 years older than her husband, and married him when she was already over 30; Joshua grew a long and distinctive beard in order to look older beside his wife. However, he adored Olga, and she played an important part in his real-estate purchasing negotiations and deals. In the 1930s he built a house for her on a cliff overlooking the sea near Hadera, and named the place Givat Olga: Olga's Hill. The house is a gem, built in the Bauhaus international style. Tragically, the couple never got to live in their house, Olga was already ill at the time it was finished, and died in 1942. Joshua Hankin died 3 years later.

The house fell into disrepair for many years, the wind and the salt took their toll. However, in the early 2000s it was restored by the Hadera municipality and the Council for Conservation of Heritage Sites. The house was rented to Arik and Ella, an energetic couple who opened a café-restaurant there, and lovingly restored its interior to reflect the atmosphere and style of the Hankins' time. From the balcony there is a view of the rocky coast underneath, the Givat Olga beach, and the lights of the Hadera power station in the distance.

The menu is vegetarian, with delicious pasta dishes and salads. For dessert we tasted the cheese cake, the apple pie and some melon, and they were all very tasty. Arik told us the story of the place with love and enthusiasm.