From the moment it opened in 1937, the soaring art deco façade of the Alhambra cinema in Jaffa became one of the city's most recognizable landmarks, its 1,000-seat auditorium patronized by Jews, Arabs and British Mandate officials alike.

Now, after decades of neglect, the complex has been renovated as the first public Middle East centre for the Church of Scientology, the controversial movement founded by writer and explorer L Ron Hubbard whose followers include John Travolta and Tom Cruise.