50 Kikar Hamoshava

Kikar Hamoshava (The Village Square) has been and continues to be the center of the community. Although new neighborhoods have been built some distance away and the community already numbers tens of thousand of inhabitants, the square and the two streets that cross it remained the heart and center. During the day the streets that are nearly two hundred meters long in every direction, are bustling with people and cars are parked bumper to bumper. But in the evening the square empties and at night it is all but deserted.

The orange building on the right is a large store that sells office supplies, books, toys, computers and what not. Next to it is an elongated one story building which has columns in front of it, that contains two spice stores, a little restaurant, a book store that has seen better days and a toy shop. On the left edge of the picture the larger building of the bank can be seen and after that, the Super. Opposite it (outside the photo) are the mini shopping center which is half empty, a few more stores and a pharmacy. Further along that road are the seamstress' shop, the photography store and the bakery. And that's about all, that's the end of the center.

Continuing on the photo's right hand side, going down the street to the north, are two other banks, a computer store, a pet food shop, two clothing stores and an optometrist. After that another bakery, a new cafe, two pizza stalls and a barbershop. And that's it. After the crossroads (and the furniture store and framing shop) one comes to the Itin Play Ground.

East of the Moshava square, after the kiosk, is the post office and Yad Labanim (the Soldiers Memorial) and after them the Moshava administration building. Not long ago there was also a large bus terminal, but that is a thing of the past. To the center's west there is a cleaning materials store, two electrical supplies stores, another book shop, three household equipment stores, yet another clothing store, a religious supplies store, a flower shop, another barber and a grocery store – and that's about it. Further on is the Matnas (the Community Cultural Center).

Look at the square and its cheerful goats. It is charming but not very interesting. But look beyond the square at the series of columns in front of the elongated building. It is like a capsule frozen in time for tens of years. But the cellular antenna on the horizon reminds us of time marching on.