Behind the design
Why TLV? Three letters that mean Tel Aviv
TLV is the airport code for Ben Gurion Airport, and shorthand for Tel Aviv itself. Here's the story behind the three letters on our TLV cap.
By the MEGA Israel team · · 2 min read
IllustrationIf you've flown to Israel, you've seen these three letters on your boarding pass, your bag tag and the departures board: TLV.
Where TLV comes from
TLV is the IATA code for Ben Gurion Airport, Israel's main international airport, about 20 kilometers southeast of Tel Aviv. Over time the code turned into shorthand for the city itself. People write "TLV" on photos, on playlists and on the notes app list of places they want to eat on their next trip.
A city in three letters
Tel Aviv was founded in 1909 on the sand dunes outside Jaffa. It grew into the country's cultural and business center, with a beachfront promenade, the Bauhaus-style "White City" buildings that earned UNESCO World Heritage status, and a food scene people plan whole trips around. For a lot of travelers, TLV is the first thing they see when they land and the last thing they see when they leave.
Why a minimalist cap
Some people want their heritage front and center. Others want something only the right people will notice. TLV is for the second group. Three small letters, embroidered clean, that say "I've been there" or "I'm from there" or "I'm going back," depending on who's asking.
The cap
The TLV Minimalist Cap is an unstructured cotton dad cap with small, clean embroidery, in stone or black. It's made in small US batches with our founding drop, and it pairs with the Jaffa tee in the Cap + Tee Bundle.
Planning a trip, or remembering one? Read about old Jaffa, just down the beach.
