KOSHER TOUR PORTUGAL
Day 1
Arrival and transfer to hotel.
Day 2
Coimbra – Lisbon
Breakfast at hotel.
Departure towards the riverfront city of Coimbra, a well-kept medieval longstanding town, famous for its University and it´s baroque library (inaugurated in the 14th century). Here we will get acquainted with city including the Juderia dating back to 1139 and the University complex. On our way back to Lisbon we will stop in Obidos- a medieval town with picturesque cobblestones streets lined with colorful houses – all encircled by the walls of a 12th century Castle. Arrival in Lisbon. In the evening, Dinner in Lisbon at a Fado Restaurant where you can enjoy a typical” Fado Show” Overnight Lisbon.
Day 3
Lisbon, Sintra – Lisbon
Breakfast at hotel.
During our morning tour of Lisbon we will visit the Alfama Quarter, including the “Judaria Grande”- in one of the city’s oldest areas where a large Jewish Community flourished in the Middle ages. We will then drive to city of Sintra a World Heritage site known as “Lord Byron’s Glorious Eden,once the summer residence of the Royalty of Portugal. We will then visit a Royal Palace whose origins date back to the 15th century. Return to Lisbon. Evening services followed by a Shabat dinner.
Day 4
Evora, Castelo de Vide, overnight in Belmonte at a Kosher hotel. Dinner at hotel
Belmonte Sinai hotel 3*
Departure from Lisbon. Our first stop is Evora- where the local Jewry was one of the largest in the country up to the 15th century. Tour of the Historic center and the Jewish Quarter. Continuing, we arrive at the Castelo de Vide where we will visit the authentic Medieval Juderia and the 15th Century Synagogue that was recently restored. Here, we will learn all about the Jews of Castelo de Vide who were forced to convert to Catholicism. Nearby, the impressive fortress town of Marvao served as an entry point to the thousands of Jews who fled Spain in the 14th and 15th centuries. Overnight the Castelo de Vide area.
Day 5
Belmonte, Guarda – Porto – overnight in Porto, Kosher Hotel. Dinner at Hotel.
Breakfast at Hotel. Following breakfast, departure from Porto to the town of Belmonte which has preserved it’s Jewish past and is a community of some hundreds of ” Marranos” who have decided to make their way back to their Jewish Roots. The tour will include the Jewish Quarter that was situated outside the castle walls. In this quarter we will get to see houses with crosses engraved in stone close to the doors labeling those particular houses as inhabited by “New Christians”, who were forcibly baptized and publicly followed Catholic rituals but in the privacy of their own homes maintained their Jewish religion. We will visit the Jewish Museum and Synagogue. Next, we continue to Guarda where Jews first began to settle in the middle of the 13th century and it´s old Jewish quarter is a reminder of that period. Overnight in Guarda.
Day 7
Breakfast at Hotel and return to Oporto
Hotel da Música 4* – Oporto
Located right in the heart of Oporto, in Boavista, and nearby the Kadoorie Mekor Haim Synagogue, the 4 star Hotel da Música is the Kosher hotel of Oporto and includes a Kosher restaurant inside! As part of a project coordinated by the Oporto Rabbi, Daniel Litvak, whose supervision is recognized by the Grand Rabbinate of Israel, the project involved a new kitchen and rigorous training of the hotel employees, so that they are able to welcome and cater to Jewish tourists. Dinner at hotel.
Day 8
Tour Oporto – There is no speaking about Oporto without referring the name of Captain Barros Basto known as the “Portuguese Dreyfus”. Born from a Marrano family, he converted himself to Judaism and was the man who tried to bring back to Judaism the numerous Marrano Communities hidden all over the North of Portugal. This was the reason why he went to martial court and dismissed from the army. We will start off the tour with a visit the Kadoorie Synagogue, Oporto´s Historical Center- a UNESCO World Heritage and the beautiful Bolsa Palace. In the afternoon we will embark on a short cruise on the Douro River. Overnight Oporto.
Day 9
Departure from Oporto Airport