Attractions in Hadera – the Salt and Pepper Museum, the Kahn Museum of Hadera and Hadera River Park
Attractions in Hadera include the Salt & Pepper Museum that showcases over 37,000 pairs of salt and pepper shakers and is one of the largest collections globally. The Kahn Museum of Hadera shows the development of Hadera from 1891 until the 1960s and the initial travails of the first settlers, including malaria, which not infrequently was fatal. The Hadera River Park is a scenic urban nature reserve with a manmade stream containing recycled salt water from the adjacent power station. Hadera can also boast imaginative traffic circles!
The book that every Anglo visitor and resident of Israel cannot do without!
"In and Around Jerusalem for Everyone - The Best Walks, Hikes and Outdoor Pools" . Available at Jerusalem bookstores including Pomeranz Booksellers (tel: 02-623 5559 with courier service available) and on Amazon. Click here for incredible reviews.
Directions: Enter “Salt and pepper museum Hadera” into Waze and click on ”מוזיאון המלך-פלפל חדרה.”
Admission: Visits are by appointment only. Hours are Monday to Thursday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the museum is closed on Sunday. There is a large area with shaded picnic benches. There is an admission charge. The museum sells duplicate or damaged shakers, with proceeds supporting its charitable initiatives. The phone number is 050-684-9989.
Public transport: Enter “מוזיאון פלפל מלך “ into Moovit. It is about a 600-meter/19-minute walk from the nearest bus stop.
The Salt and Pepper Museum is located in the backyard of Eitan Bar-On's home and four rooms with floor-to-ceiling shelving are filled with shakers of various shapes, sizes, and themes. Visitors can also enjoy a guided tour that delves into the stories behind the collection and its creator.
The story of the museum began in 2014 when a friend gifted Eitan Bar-On, a retired Israeli lieutenant colonel, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, a monkey-shaped salt and pepper shaker, and this sparked a passion that would eventually lead to an extensive collection. Following complications from gastric bypass surgery, from which Bar On was in a coma for over four months and from which doctors predicted he would not awaken, people began bringing him salt and pepper shakers during his two years of rehabilitation. He also suffered a stroke that left him partially paralyzed on his left side. His therapy was picking up salt and pepper shakers, and painstakingly arranging them on the shelves, and this hands-on therapy contributed significantly to his recovery.
Over time, friends and visitors contributed to his growing assortment, which now includes over 92,000 shakers, with 27,000 displayed in the Hadera museum and the remainder in Larnaca, Cyprus, where Bar-On resides part-time. The shakers are made from various materials and depict a wide array of themes, from animals and celebrities to everyday objects. His oldest shaker dates to 1703.
Drawing factors of the museum are how it was founded by Eitan Bar-On, and that its profits are used to fund higher education scholarships for soldiers, providing 80 scholarships annually, and supporting Gila Almagor’s Wish Foundation, which grants wishes to sick children.
The Khan Museum of Hadera
Directions: Enter “Kahn Hadera” and click on “מוזיאון ״החאן״ חדרה “.
Admission: Hours are 8.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, 8.30 p.m. to 2 p.m. Monday and Wednesday, and 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Friday. Admission is 30 NIS for adults, 25 NIS for seniors and 20 NIS for students. Their phone numbers are 04 632-2330 and 04 632-4562. Click here for their Hebrew website:
Public transport: Enter “מוזיאון החאן” into Moovit for a close bus stop.
A Kahn means an inn. However, no one would have built an inn here as it was surrounded by swamps. Rather, this was an enclosed farm building of 26 rooms that surrounded a central courtyard and had two heavy wooden gates that were locked at night. It looked like an inn (hence the name) and was owned by a wealthy Christian Arab living in Beirut, who was also the owner of the surrounding Al Hudra (green lands), that would become Hadera. The building and surrounding lands were bought by four Hovevei Tzion societies for Jews from Kovna, Riga and Vilna who were part of the First Aliya. This transaction was brokered by Yehoshua Hankin, who was involved in many other land purchases in Palestine. (See page on Ein Harod for more details about this inspiring individual).
The settlers lived in these rooms for six years from 1891 until they received permission from the Ottoman authorities to build 40 permanent houses. The settlers wanted to remain independent and, unlike most other groups they refused help initially from Baron de Rothschild, although he did commit to drain the surrounding malaria-infested swamps.
The 11 still-standing rooms of this building became the Khan Museum of Hadera, and it documents the development of Hadera from 1891 until the 1960s. In this respect it differs from many other museums of this kind in Israel, which tend to focus just on the First Aliya. The museum can be toured in about an hour and visitors are provided with a brochure in English. There is also a movie with English subtitles.
The museum houses artifacts and scenes of settlers as they contended with swamps, malaria, the Ottomans, the British, and the changing mosaic of Israeli society. The buildings are labelled “All beginnings are hard” (1891-1896), purchasing the land, a family room, “Yet again will I rebuild you, then you shall be built” (1897-1920), the olive press, “The 1930s in Hadera,” ”Starting over in Hadera” (1940-1952, a view of a street, a family room, and a tin shack in the transit camp.
The Great Synagogue is located in the compound, but it is in use and is not part of the museum. It was built during the 1930s, and inaugurated in 1941. It has a distinctive tall watch tower and was built like this because of the Arab riots during the time it was built. The various window openings resemble the Khan’s main archway and are a design element. They could also be used for shooting.
Gate to the Kahn which was locked at night
Room from the 1930s furnished in the Art Nouveau style from France
Initial settlers in a room in the Kahn. There may have been two families to a room separated by a curtain.
Model of the Kahn settlement
Hadera River Park
Hadera River Park is a scenic urban nature reserve located between Givat Olga and the Orot Rabin Power Station in Hadera. The park spans approximately 0.75 square kilometers and features a 1.3-kilometer-long promenade along the Hadera Stream or nahal, offering visitors green lawns, footpaths, bicycle trails, shaded picnic areas with picnic benches, drinking water, and a bridge over the stream. There is no entrance fee. It is a distance of 2 km to encircle the park and it takes about 40 minutes.
Directions: Enter “Hadera Stream Park” into Waze. This will lead you directly to the parking lot.
The nahal is manmade and contains salt water that has been recycled by the adjacent Orot Rabin Power Station. Its turbines are cooled with sea water which is then released back into the stream, maintaining a consistent flow and temperature year-round.
The Orot Rabin Power Station is Israel’s largest power station. It functions on natural gas. It does have a visitor center for prearranged groups and there are also open days during vacation time and public holidays. It showcases a 360-degree view of the world of electricity using the very latest technology and the visit includes a movie. Different languages can be accommodated. This is their website.
There is a memorial to Avshalom Feinberg on small hill adjacent to the park. It can be reached by a short path from the parking lot with a green gate. At the base of the hill are restrooms. Feinberg was born in Hadera, his parents being founding members. He was involved with the Nili spy organization during World War I, spying on the Ottoman military preparations in Palestine. He attempted to make contact with the British by travelling through the Sinai desert, but he murdered by Bedouin. His remains were discovered in 1967 and he was buried on Mount Herzl.
From November to March, the warm waters near the power station attract sharks, including blue sharks, sandbar sharks and thresher sharks that come from Gibraltar. They come very close to the coast to be near the warm water from the power station, which is 10 degrees warmer than the sea water. They can be observed from the safety of the promenade, although not from the park. While shark sightings are a highlight, swimming in the area can be dangerous. In April 2025, a rare shark attack occurred near the park, leading to the temporary closure of the beach and advisories against entering the water.
Bridge over the stream.
Salt water is discharged into the stream from the power plant.
Memorial to Avshalom Feinberg
Links to the best family activities, hikes and historic sites in the GOLAN, EASTERN GALILEE, UPPER GALILEE, LOWER GALILEE, JORDAN VALLEY & LAKE KINNERET, the SHEFELAH, TEL AVIV-YAFFO and surroundings, NORTH of TEL AVIV, and SOUTH of TEL AVIV.