Jewish Travel. Jewish Heritage Tours

Jewish Travel
Division of EMCO Travel, LLC

Since 1993

Toll-free 877-466-2934. Phone 727-254-4373
Fax: 203-653-5586
email: info@JewishTravelAgency.com

According to the Portuguese National Tourist Office (PNTO), Portugal committed itself to working very hard to promote the country’s Jewish heritage. Portugal has much to offer culturally and historically that Americans interested in experiencing Judaic traditions may not know about. Eventually the PNTO wants to develop Jewish heritage programs on its own and work with tour operators to promote this specialty travel. Local hoteliers in eastern Lisbon and central Portugal have already expressed an interest in the program.

Two in-depth booklets on Jewish travel are published by the PNTO. The first recounts the 1,000 saga depicted in its title, The Jews in Portugal. It offers a 40-page historical background on how the Jews played a significant role in Portugal’s accomplishments during the Golden Age of Discovery, when Portuguese navigators explored the reaches of the unknown world. At the time the country’s 200,000 Jews (one-fifth of the population) were heavily involved, from financing the sailing fleets to scientific leadership in cartography, mathematics and medicine.

During the Holocaust, Lisbon represented a last chance for those desperate to escape the Nazi regime. More than 100,000 Jews and other refugees were able to flee through the capital with help from unknown benefactors. This pamphlet further details the major contributions made by the Portuguese Jewish population.

The second, more recent book, Journey to Jewish Portugal, provides suggested tours throughout the country that trace its Jewish heritage. This 70-page travelogue visits the six regions of the country: Costa de Lisbon, Costa Verde, Costa de Prata, Montanhas, Planicies and the Algarve, plus the outside archipelagos of Madeira and the Azores.

This brochure features maps and photographs of such Jewish historic sites as Lisbon’s Moorish style Sephardic Synagogue, Ashkenazic Synagogue; Shaare Tikva, which houses documents and religious objects dating from the 1300s, and museums bearing witness to Jewish life around the capital. Other sites of interest to travelers are centered along the northern border of Spain, where Jews fleeing from the Spanish Inquisition settled until 1536.

The city of Porto - another major center for Jewish traders in the Middle Ages - holds the earliest-known Jewish Quarter of Portugal’s neighborhoods. Visitors can tour Porto’s Kadooric Synagogue as well. Also in the north, the mountainous town of Belmonte was a hub for the Marranos, whose clandestine Jewish existence has remained virtually undisturbed from the time of the Inquisition to the present day.

A new synagogue has been constructed in Belmonte for those who continued to practice their faith in secret. Tomar, in the Costa de Prata region, is where an ancient synagogue - one of two surviving monuments of medieval Jewish heritage - has been turned into a national museum featuring historic remnants of Portuguese medieval communities.

The Jewish community throughout Portugal has been involved in sponsoring seminars and cultural programs at local universities and study centers, and has published works to help shed light on the country’s Jewish heritage.

For travelers interested in Visiting Portugal’s Historic sites, we will be happy to arrange Jewish Heritage tours to the country or can tailor regular itineraries to accommodate those seeking this kind of specialized travel. For example, a nine-day program usually includes visits to the main points of interest including Lisbon’s Tomar, Porto, Guarda, Belmonte, Fundao, Castelo de Vide and Evora.

We can also provide tailor-made packages to fit various budgets for individuals or groups. Email for quote and reservation.

EMCO Travel LLC, DBA Jewish Travel Agency is registered with State of Florida as Seller of Travel Registration No. ST36902
California Travel Seller # 2079011-40
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