Back then he was a pint-sized prodigy, standing 5ft tall and weighing barely six-and-a-quarter stone.
The famous Spanish quarter, a stone's throw away, is now shared between Neapolitans and arrivals from Sri Lanka and the Philippines, and in the little streets that climb behind the city centre, even a shop called Ali Pak's Asian Foods flies the tricolour flag.
If that is a touch pricey, go to the other end of town: Shabazi Street leads from the Shalom Tower (12) south into Neve Tzedek, a charming quarter of stone-built cottages dating from the 1880s older than Tel Aviv itself.
He said that companies like his have little choice but to pay Tilcon's prices for materials like three-quarter-inch stone, which has gone up from $9 to $13 a ton since 2000.
Diamonds will retail from $200 for a quarter-carat stone up to $800 for a one-carat stone and will be available in different hues from pink, blue and white diamonds in earring and necklace designs.
She soon clicked with the staff, and also clunked and clattered, as she wore the many accessories she chose to work on – hundreds of pieces of jewellery a year, of "semi-precious or even quarter-precious" stones, mad materials given her "wonky twist" – plus a magpie collection of folkloric boots, shawls, turbans, a complete Ballets Russes production.
The city, which dates back to the 10th century, has an attractive old quarter with labyrinthine stone streets, tile-roofed houses with wrought-iron balconies colored by flowers, a Gothic church and tidy plazas that double as social clubs.
"I lost three-quarters of a stone [4.75kg] during the seven days I was questioned.
The plot is divided into quarters by a stone and brick path, and there are ivy-covered walls along the sides.
Celtic striker Anthony Stokes has lost three-quarters of a stone in weight thus far under the leadership of new manager Ronny Deila.
: Slave quarters – two preserved stone buildings adjacent to the Farm House, now provided with interpretive exhibits on slave life at Hampton.
