Mediterranean Jewish Journey, Part 1 – Andalusia

6days/5nights Wed – Mon
The tour takes participants to the heart of many aspects of the Jewish story. Geographically, we tour sites of early European experience, including Jewish interaction with the surrounding societies, especially Islam and Christianity. The themes of the Mediterranean Jewish Journey includes the Jewish Story in Islamic Spain, concentrating on the nature of Jewish/Islam relations; cultural and intellectual achievements of Spanish Jewish Renaissance; the Christian Reconquest of Spain and the implications for the Jews; contrasting Christianity and Islam in their relationship with the Jews; the story of Christian Disputation and Inquisition; Jewish responses to catastrophe; Sephardi identity and culture; the remarkable story of the Conversos and Crypto Judaism; the meaning of exile in European Jewish life; Catholic Jewish relations in the modern world and looking at European culture through Jewish eyes.

Tour highlights

The story of the Jews and Córdoba in the early Middle Ages has become something of an icon in the Jewish collective memory. Living alongside the ‘liberal’ Muslim Ommayad regime, Jewish life flourished creating for itself a ‘Golden Age’. We piece together this optimistic story, are challenged by its intellectual pursuits and enjoy the cultural achievements of this Spanish Jewish Renaissance. We visit Barrio de la Judería, the Jewish Quarter, which in present day Córdoba still retains a special charm with streets full of flowers and lined with orange trees. The Rambam Sinagoga was built in 1315 and declared a National Monument in 1885. A short walk away is the Plaza Tiberiades and Maimonides' statue and the house where he was born.

Mezquita, Cordoba

After the Reconquest the Spaniards saw fit to destroy the mosques and replace them with churches. However, here we have the good fortune to see one that was spared this ignominious end – the Mezquita, also called the mezquita-catedral because Charles V built a cathedral within its massive structure.

Although more a place of Jewish personalities of the past than of Jewish sites, Granada is, nevertheless, a city not to be missed. This last Moorish outpost is situated at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The Judería was the birthplace of the philosopher and poet Moshe Ibn Ezra and the translator Yehuda ben Tibbon. From here the king’s vizier, Samuel Ha-Nagid, poet, military leader, talmudic scholar and statesman, ruled. The old synagogue is now the Church of San Cecilio.

Alhambra Palace, Grenada

Many delights are to be seen - the magnificent Alhambra Palace (‘The Red One’), a gem of Moorish architecture; the Generalife, the famous gardens of the Alhambra and the Albaicín, Grenada’s picturesque Old Quarter.

Following the gradual reconquest by Christianity, the story for Jews became one of restriction, accusation and violence. We shall see how this produced one of the most intriguing and challenging experiences in Jewish history, namely crypto-Judaism.

“Let us build a church so large that the world will think us mad” the Seville city fathers are believed to have proclaimed. Seville Cathedral certainly lives up to that proclamation. Amongst the church treasures are two decorative keys with Hebrew inscriptions that were given to King Ferdinand III by the Jewish Community after he had captured the city from the Moors. Next to the cathedral is the Giralda, an old mosque with a minaret 98 metres high. Barrio de Santa Cruz, a maze of narrow alleys, was once the Jewish Quarter and became the home of the nobility in the 17 th century. Amongst the places we visit are Iglesias Santa Maria La Blanca, formerly a synagogue, and the Church of the Inquisition.

Alcazar, Seville

Built on the site of an old Moorish palace, Alcàzar, Al Kasr in Arabic, is the sumptuous palace of Pedro the Cruel. The Court of the Maidens is surrounded by a graceful marble colonnade and the walls of the Hall of the Ambassadors are covered with intricate Arabic script including quotations from the Koran. The gardens, scattered with terraces and pools, makes an excellent place to wind down.

We will meet the Jewish community in Torrelominos and join them for kiddush and Friday night service.

Optional Gibraltar extension - Meet the Jewish community; visit The Great Synagogue (dating back to 1724) and cemetery (which is not normally open to the public) and lunch in a kosher restaurant. First records of Jews in Gibraltar go back to the 14th century. Following the expulsion in 1492 no more was heard until 1749 when they were legally allowed to return to what had become a British protectorate.

This tour will be the first of a series. The second will be to Catalonia (Barcelona and Gerona) and the third a Rome citybreak. However, each may be taken as a stand-alone tour and not linked, if preferred. The theme of these tours was created by Jeremy Leigh who will accompany each tour. Jeremy studied at both the London School of Economics and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He has spent the past decade devoting himself to creating a new generation of young Jewish adults committed to the understanding of Jewish history and identity and thereby to Jewish peoplehood. He teaches at present at the HUC Jerusalem, the Machon Institute and Hebrew University.

The group tour price includes:

Flights: (example price is based on scheduled service flights between London and Malaga)

Hotel: Five nights at the 4 star Hotel Cervantes, in a twin/double room with facilities

Meals: All kosher cuisine, Buffet breakfasts; 3 pack lunches; 1 lunch and 3 dinners

Also included: Tour manager and guest speaker; English speaking guides; transfers; private coach; entrances; taxes

Not included: travel insurance; meals not listed above; personal expenses in hotels, cafes’ etc.

Example price: (based on low season – minimum 30 persons)

6DAYS/5NIGHTS     

£825 (single supplement £69)

€1196 (single supplement €100)

WITH GIBRALTAR EXTENSION – 7DAYS/6NIGHTS

£895 (single supplement £83)

€1298 (single supplement €120)

Alternative meals and hotel : non-kosher or vegetarian meals can be provided at the Hilton or Holiday Inn. Alternative hotels in Torremolinos may be used for groups not requiring kosher cuisine – details on request.

This tour, from the UK, is operated on our behalf by Regent Holidays and is fully bonded. (For information about tour operators and bonding click on About Us and Frequently Asked Questions)

Regent Holidays’ website is at
www.regent-holidays.co.uk