Portugal

We will meet at the airport to begin our tour at about Noon with sightseeing in beautiful Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, and one of the oldest cities in Europe. We will visit the Belem district to see the Monument of the Discoveries, which commemorates Portugal’s role in discovering the “New World”. We will walk in the old Jewish neighborhood and visit Sha’arei Tikva Synagogue.

After breakfast we leave Lisbon and travel to Evora, a medieval walled city that is another UNESCO World Heritage Site. In addition to the Jewish past of this city, we will also see the Roman quarter. We will continue to Castelo de Vide bordering Spain. Most of its fame comes from the most impressive Judaria – Jewish Quarter and museum. The town is still home to the “New Christians” who are descendants of the Marranos. Found in it is the oldest synagogue which was restored. The synagogue/museum has a display showing the integration of Jews into the town’s famous textile industry, and various other industries. Here, the President of Portugal, Mr. Mario Suarez, chose to apologize to the Jewish people for the terrible injustice and murder committed by his people, in the presence of the Israeli Ambassador to Portugal at the time, Ms. Colette Avital. We continue to Castelo Branco.

After breakfast we will drive to Belmonte, built around a fortress from the 13th century. The town preserves the history of the Jews very well, and there lives a community of Bnei Annsuim who decided, after 500 years of keeping Jewish tradition in secret, to return openly to Judaism in the 90s of the 20th century. We will tour the city and visit the Jewish Museum, which presents a wonderful display of Jewish life during the Inquisition and of Jewish tradition. We will also visit the local synagogue, Beit Eliyahu. We continue to Guarda, the highest city in Europe. We will visit the Jewish quarters, and be impressed by the engravings of various shapes on the walls of the houses. We continue to Trancoso, which was an important and noble Jewish center in the Middle Ages, we will visit the synagogue and Isaac Cardoso Center of Jewish Culture – the Jewish Museum. We continue to Porto.

After breakfast we will take a tour of the city. We will see the old train station, the town hall, the stock exchange. In the Jewish part of the tour we will visit the Jewish Museum. We will see the synagogue named after the well-known philanthropist Kadori, here a small community of Jews operates alongside many Bnei Annusim who have begun to return to Judaism. We will take a cruise on an “antique” riverboat under the bridges. Preparations for Shabbat

After prayers with the local community in the beautiful synagogue and lunch – time to relax.

After breakfast we will drive to the Bussaco forest, a nature reserve near Coimbra that is mostly a wild forest. The royal family of Portugal had built a summer palace here that still exists today. We will visit Coimbra, a beautiful city built on a cliff and surrounded by a river. We will visit the local university, the oldest in Portugal, King Joao’s library, built in the Baroque style and containing about 300,000 ancient books. Next we will drive to the old town of Tomar. We will see the ancient synagogue built in 1430 and named after Rabbi Avraham Zacuto, an astronomer and mathematician, after whom a crater on the moon was named. We will walk the streets of the quiet town, among ancient houses.

After breakfast we will drive to the fishing town of Nazaré. We will have a wonderful view over the cliff overlooking the city, and tour the local market. We continue to Alcobaca, here the UNESCO- recognized centerpiece of the 12th-century Alcobaça Monastery was one of Portugal’s first Gothic buildings. We will tell the story of the Jewish queen of Portugal. We will continue to the charming town of Óbidos. given as a wedding gift by the king of Portugal to his beloved queen since the 15th century. We will tour the fortress city between the walls and gates where the special and authentic character of a fortress town in Portugal is preserved. In 1951 the castle and the entire village were classified as national monuments and, in 2007, it was voted one of the seven wonders of Portugal. We continue to Lisbon.

Today we will travel to Sintra, the resort town of the kings of Portugal, located in the heart of green hills with magnificent mansions and palaces between them. We will visit the National palace of the kings of Portugal in the heart of the town that will illustrate to us the splendor in which the rulers and nobles of the kingdom lived in the past. From there we will continue to the most western point of Portugal and the European continent – “Cabo da Roca”. A great view of the Atlantic Ocean, from the East side. We will continue and stop at Boca de Inferno – “Devil’s Mouth” near the sea. We will end with a visit to Cascais – the famous fishing town, and drive through Estroil on our way back to Lisbon. After dinner we will go to a Fado show.

In the morning – weather permitting – we will walk along Avenida da Liberdade from Edward VII Park, Lisbon’s 5th Ave. We will spend time visiting the famous Museu Calouste Gulbenkian – an art museum that houses a significant private art collection. The collection spans from Ancient Egypt to the early 20th century, including works from the Islamic World, China, Japan, and major European painters. The museum is named after Calouste Gulbenkian, whose collection forms its core. It’s set within a large garden in central Lisbon.