Jewish Heritage 9 days
DAY 1
We arrive in Athens - capital of Greece! Meet and greet and transfer to the hotel. Afternoon at leisure.
Welcome dinner with folklore show in the heart of the city, Plaka area. Overnight in Athens.
DAY 2
We start the full day tour of Athens with a visit to the Jewish Museum, Beth Shalom Sephardic Synagogue and
Athens Holocaust Memorial. We also admire the architectural wonders of
ancient Athens, as we follow our guide to the world-renowned Acropolis to
see the Propylea, the Erechtheum and the Parthenon. From the top of the
Acropolis we can see the Agora, the ancient center of the economic and
public life of the city. What will surely amaze us is the New Acropolis
Museum, one of the finest Museums of the world! During the bus tour, we
also see Constitution Square with the House of Parliament and the Tomb
of the Unknown Soldier, the Temple of Zeus, the Old Olympic Stadium and
the Neoclassical Buildings of Athens like the National University, the National Library and the Academy. Dinner
at the hotel and overnight in Athens.
DAY 3
This morning we take our short flight to Ioannina. The city's foundation has traditionally been ascribed to
the Byzantine Emperor Justinian in the
6th century AD, but modern
archaeological research has
uncovered evidence of Hellenistic
settlements. Ioannina flourished in the
late Byzantine period (13th–15th
centuries). In the period between the
18th and 19th centuries, the city was a major center of the modern Greek Enlightenment. We visit the old
synagogue of Ioannina, located just inside the Castle in what was the old Jewish quarter. According to the
inscription over the entrance, it was built in 1829 and apparently occupies the site of an older synagogue,
which probably dated back to the 17 th century. The wall and the gate were built in the 19 th century. The new
synagogue, which was dedicated in 1841, has unfortunately been destroyed. There are remains of two
minyans (oratories) that were connected to the two synagogues for the use of members of the community
who came early to pray. The foundations of the minyan connected to the Old synagogue can still be seen to
the northeast of the building. We also visit the Jewish Museum and the Holocaust Memorial. Dinner at a local
restaurant and overnight at our hotel in Ioannina.
DAY 4
This morning we drive from Ioannina to the port of Igoumenitsa to take the ferry to the island of Corfu. Upon
our arrival to Corfu, we head west through the village of Gastouri to visit is to Achillion Palace, built in 1890-
1892 by the Empress Elisabeth (Sissy) of Austria, then purchased by Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany in 1908.
Inside the Palace we visit the interesting small museum, admire the many statues
(including the Dying Achilles) which decorate the beautiful gardens with a
magnificent view over Corfu town. Then on to Perama and Kanoni where we can
walk to Vlacherena Monastery and take our holiday snaps of “Mouse-Island”
(Pontikonissi), one of the most famous attractions of Corfu. After that we continue
our tour to Old Corfu Town, a Unesco World Heritage site. Here we visit Synagogue
and the Jewish Quarter. We also walk around the old Town with its kantounas
(narrow alleyways). Late in the afternoon, we take the ferry back to Igoumenitsa
and from there we drive back to our hotel in Ioannina. Dinner and overnight are at our hotel in Ioannina.
DAY 5
Today we leave Ioannina and drive east to Kalambaka to see the world-
famous, breathtaking Byzantine monasteries that are perched on summits of
gray rock of varied and beautiful shapes. Their history goes back to the 14th
century when the monks sought refuge in the cliffside caves, then fled higher
to build the original wooden shelters which were later transformed into
monasteries. Dinner (at the hotel) and overnight are in Kalambaka.
DAY 6
Today we leave Ioannina and drive to Veria to visit the Synagogue, 18 th century Jewish quarter and the Jewish
cemetery. The Jews of Veria were Sephardic and strongly connected with
those of Salonica. They inhabited a Mahalasi (quarter) that survived
almost completely intact, although today it is empty of Jews since the
Nazi action of 1943. This afternoon we visit Vergina, a small town which
became internationally famous in 1977 when a Greek archaeologist
unearthed what he claimed was the burial site of the Kings of Macedonia
including the tomb of Philip II, father of Alexander the Great. This is a
UNESCO World Heritage site. Then we continue to Thessaloniki, the
second largest city in Greece. Dinner and overnight are at our hotel in
Thessaloniki.
DAY 7
We start our day with a visit to the Yad Lezikaron Synagogue. Upstairs is the Center for
Historical Studies with Jewish artifacts. Then we visit the Jewish History Museum. After
the expulsion from Spain, Spanish and Portuguese Jews arrived in great numbers and over
32 synagogues marked the Jewish quarter. The Jewish Mystics, legalists, poets and rabbis
were famous throughout the Near East and Europe. Without a doubt Thessaloniki was a
Jewish city at heart until World War II, and was rightly claimed “Mother of Israel”. Before
we visit the Archaeological Museum and the beautiful basilicas of St. Sophia and St.
Demetrios, we see the city’s trademark which is the White Tower. Along the Via Egnatia
stands the Galerus Arch, where we can look out over the second largest city in Greece
from the Old City Ramparts, some dating back to Roman times. Tonight, we have our dinner with live Greek
music at a nice tavern in the Ladadika area, the center of nightlife in Thessaloniki. Overnight in Thessaloniki.
DAY 8
Today we leave Thessaloniki in the morning following the route of the Via Egnatia. We visit the area of
Amphipolis to see the famous funerary Lion of Amphipolis,
then we travel onto Philippi. There, we visit the Baptistery of
Lydia near the river, where Apostle Paul baptized her. Lydia
was the first convert of Paul on European soil, followed by
the jailer. Also, we visit the ruins of the Forum of Philippi,
the Christian Basilicas, the “Prison of Paul” and the Theater.
Then we drive to Kavala (Neapolis), one of the most
beautiful cities in Greece! It is unclear exactly when Jews
began living in Kavala, but after the Turkish occupation of
Budapest during the mid-16th century, a number of Hungarian Jews joined the Sephardic Jews already living
in the city. At first these new Hungarian arrivals preserved their language and customs, but they eventually
integrated into the community of Sephardic Jews. By the end of the 16th century, Kavala had four synagogues
and a Jewish population of 500. By 1676, one-third of the city's population was Jewish. Here, we view the
Byzantine Castle and the Roman Aqueduct. Dinner and overnight are at our hotel in Kavala.
DAY 9
Today we say goodbye to Greece as we cross the border to Bulgaria.
