THESSALONIKI the land of Alexander the GREAT
History of the Jews of Salonica
(search your
roots )
The earliest
recorded Jewish presence in Greece was in the port city of Salonika. Brought to
the city from Alexandria in Egypt by Alexander the Great’s brother-in-law,
Kasandros, because of their expertise in maritime trade, Hellenized Jews
established their community and built their first synagogue, Etz Hayyim. St.
Paul preached here in the first century but was rejected by the Jews of the
city.
Because of its port and its
reputation as a center of trade, Ashkenazi Jews from Northern Lands, Jews from
Provence France and Italian Jews from the south of Italy settled in the city,
fleeing from persecutions in their own lands, but it was not until the influx
of Sephardic Jews in the 15th century that Salonika achieved its
prominence as a “Jewish” city and was given the name “La Madre de Israel” in
recognition of its eminence as a center of Jewish learning.
At the beginning of the twentieth century
there were over 80,000 Jews living in Salonika, more than half the population
of the city. The Jews controlled the economy of the city and had established 40
synagogues. There was no one Jewish neighborhood. So large were their numbers
that they lived throughout the city. In 1917 there was a devastating fire that
destroyed most of the synagogues. They would be rebuilt but the economic
hardships and the uncertain climate of the now “Greek” city of Salonika, which
had become part of Modern Greece in 1912, caused many of the Jews to immigrate,
most to the United States.
At the dawning of WWII there were
56,000 Jews in the city. On April 9, 1941 the Germans took over the city. About
10,000 Jews were able to flee to safer havens before the mass deportations of
1943. From March to July of 1943, over 46,000 Jews were deported to
Auschwitz-Birkenau. Only 1,200 would survive. The Jewish cemetery, with over
300,000 tombstones, the earliest dating back to the 15th century,
was destroyed by the Germans. Of the 36 synagogues, only Monasteriton would
survive.
There are now 1,200 Jews living in
Salonika. There are two functioning synagogues and a chapel in the Saul Modiano
Senior Home. There is a new Jewish Museum that traces the proud history of
Salonikian Jewry.
The Monasteriton Synagogue was built in 1925 by Jews from Monastir in the Former Yugoslavia. Influenced by modern styles, the exterior is an imposing façade with a prominent Mogen David in the façade. The interior is similar to that of Beth Shalom in Athens with the Tevah and Echal joined by a raised platform. Subdued colors and imposing marble columns convey a feeling of dignified sanctity. The synagogue is presently undergoing restoration but can be viewed by request from the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki (Salonika). It is located at 35 Syngrou Street. The first picture below shows the exterior of the Synagogue, and the second picture shows the interior.
The Yad Lezikaron
Synagogue was constructed in 1984 out of the remains of former synagogues in
Salonika. Many of the plaques from former synagogues are in the walls of the
interior sanctuary, as are some of the ner tamids (lamps). The synagogue is
simply constructed within a commercial building at 26 Vas. Herakleios Street.
The layout is traditionally Sephardic, with the Tevah in the center and the
Echal on the far eastern wall. The picture below shows the Echal.
Built in memory of 50.000
Jews from Thessaloniki, who died in the Holocaust. The site was chosen because
it was the place where Jews were rounded up before embarking to trains for
concentration camps. From 2004 thw statue of ALEKOS MENEXIADIS is
been in Freedom square in the center of Thessaloniki near the port .
Jewish Cemetery
This is hte second Jewish
Cemetery of Thessaloniki. Its use began
after the war since the old one, which was located under the present-day
precincts of the University of Thessaloniki, was totally destroyed by the
Nazis. In the new cemetery, some
tombstones of the old one are maintained.
Villa Modiano -1905.
Modiano was one of the rich jewish families in the
city. Today houses the Ethnological Museum of Macedonia.
Villa
Allatini
A work by the Italian architect Vitaliano Pozelli. It
was built in 1888 as the summer residence of the Jewish Allatini family.
Between 1909 and 1912 it was used as the prison-residence of Sultan Abdul
Hammid II, who was overturned by the New Turks. In 1926 it hosted the newly
founded University of Thessaloniki while during the 1940-41 War it was used as
a hospital. Today, Villa Allatini houses the Prefecture of Thessaloniki
offices.
The Arch
of Galerius and the Rotunda with its minaret c. 299-303 CE
The Arch of Galerius (or Kamara)
and the Rotunda are neighboring
early 4th-century monuments in the city of Thessaloniki, in the region of Central Macedonia in northern Greece. The Rotunda is
also known as the Church of Agios
Georgios or (in English) the Rotunda of St. George
The Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki
The Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki was founded to
honour the rich and creative Sephardic heritage as it evolved in the city after
the 15th century. Consequent to the horrible expulsion from Spain by Ferdinand
and Isabella in 1492,
In academies associated with these synagogues, rabbis and mystics continued to teach the great traditions of Iberian Jewry. In the course of the following centuries, the small Jewish cemetery of the city was enlarged to accommodate the increased numbers of the deceased. By 1940 there were more than 500,000 tombs.
The Museum is housed in one of the rare Jewish
structures that survived the fire of 1917. Located in the very heart of
Thessaloniki, this imposing building has at times housed the Bank of Athens and
the offices of the Jewish newspaper L Independent and is a silent witness to
the great Jewish presence that once filled its streets with the language of
Cervantes, redolent with the odours of the kitchens of Seville and Toledo,
silent from Friday to Saturday during Shabbat.
The Museum incorporates artifacts from its permanent collections,
photographic exhibitions and the Simon Marks Photographic Exhibition
Thessaloniki, Sephardic Metropolis.
On the ground level are monumental stones and
inscriptions that were once found in the great Jewish necropolis that lay to
the east of the city walls. Accompanying these stones are a series of
photographs showing the cemetery and visitors as it was in 1914.
Central to the first floor
is a narrative history of the Jewish presence in Thessaloniki from the 3rd
century BCE until the Second World War. This exhibit was designed at the
kibbutz Beth Lohamei Ha-Gettaoth in Israel and its reproduction in Thessaloniki
was funded by "The Michael Marks Charitable Trust".
Complementing this
exhibition, are many artifacts from the collections of the Museum, giving the
visitor the chance to have an image of religious and everyday life of the
pre-war Jewish Community of Thessaloniki.
A separate exhibit focuses
on the Shoah, as it affected the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki. The majority
of the community - some 49,000 persons - was systematically deported to
Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen where most of them perished.
The library houses
important texts that were printed in Thessaloniki from the 16th to the 20th
century, covering almost every aspect of Jewish life, religious and secular.
The library acts also as a repository for books on the history, customs and
language of the Sephardi Jews. Adjacent to it is an audio-visual centre, in
which visitors will be able to watch and research tapes and films documenting
Jewish history -especially on the Holocaust.
Your Jewish Thessaloniki tour ( 5-6 HOURS
by a luxury car )
Will start with a luxury car and an excellent official guide and a tour leader to visit the impressive neoclassical buildings
Villa Allatini, Casa Bianca and Villa Modiano , which were designed by famous
architects.
Leaving back the neoclassical buildings you will head
to the center of Thessaloniki, passing from Thessaloniki Byzantine Walls to
admire the view of the city!
Next stop will be the oldest standing building of
Thessaloniki: Rotonda was built in 306 AD as a Mausoleum or Pantheon for
Emperor Galerius.
Passing right next to the famous Galerius Arch, you
will soon arrive to the Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki, were you will
learn about the presence of the Jewish community in Thessaloniki.
Follow
me through history, in the most unknown chapter of the history of my hometown.
In a city which lost the most vivant part of its population during the German
Occupation, you will have the opportunity to visit its most wonderful places, learn a lot about a large jewish
community, and why not, meet people or even taste unique flavors. Many people return to search their roots. You will see from Turkish baths (hamams) to synagogues, from commercial passages to fruit markets, (Modiano building ) you will enjoy a private visit in the Jewish museum and show the Shoah monument.
And all this not away from the heart of the city. Thus being able to enjoy its seafront, its Othoman and Byzantine remnants and continue with a nice clean meal in a kosher restaurant more famous in the city .
PROGRAMM of tour
Duration: 5-6 hours (approximately )
Route : Yad Lezikaron Synagogue -Jewish museum-ROTONDA -Ancient ROMAN FORUM –market Modiano –The Sloah monument –the ebraic villas
Kosher food is optional at a kosher restaurant in Salonica named ORPHEAS approved by Chief Rabbin of Thessaloniki Info Rabbi Aharon Israel , with menus at an average of 35.00 € pp with light drink .
- Professional and licensed guide & tour leader as assistant
- Transportation by a deluxe A/C vehicle (bus – minivan or taxi depending on the group’s size)
- Entrance fees
- Gratuities (optional)
- Meals and drinks
Private Thessaloniki Jewish Heritage Tour Prices Per Person
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Per person
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02-03 Person
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04-07 Person
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08-15 Person
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16-50 Person
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UPON REQUEST
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175.- €
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150.- €
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100.- €
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70.- €
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For Synagogue organization, we need to sent them a request at least 12 days before the visit day .
Please
contact us for tour details ….
EGNATIAS 7–THESSALONIKI tel 00302310 229950
www.alexandertravel.gr
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