Our first ever Young Professionals Tour of Jewish Turkey took place in July and it was an incredible experience! Twenty young community members joined us on the trip, with many of their families originating in Turkey and the former Ottoman Empire with names including Calderon, Camhi, Franco, Habib, Palachi, Nachajon, Sarfati, and Varon.
We started our tour in Izmir and visited the historic Sephardic synagogues and Jewish quarter with Nesim Bencoya and Tilda Koenka from the Izmir Jewish Heritage Project. It was so moving to walk the same streets where our grandparents and ancestors lived for centuries, and sit in the same synagogue seats where they prayed with our cherished Sephardic traditions. One especially touching moment occurred when we visited the synagogue of the famous Rabbi Haim Palachi, and one of our participants was actually a direct descendant of Rabbi Palachi. We strolled along the beautiful Izmir waterfront, which was very reminiscent of the waterfront in Salonica, and had a lot of fun enjoying the city’s nightlife. We also made sure to eat delicious boyoz and huevos haminados. In fact, boyoz have become a staple of Izmir - you can buy them on almost every street corner - although most non-Jews do not realize that boyoz originated from the Jewish community.
Our next stop was the picturesque beach town of Kuşadası. We stayed in an amazing hotel right on the water, swam in the beautiful Aegean, and explored the historic town that was packed with visitors and nightlife well past midnight. We traveled to nearby destinations including the ancient city of Ephesus, which was once the cultural and economic capital of the Roman Empire in Asia Minor. We also visited the ancient city of Sardis, which was once home to a large Jewish community. Amazingly, today there are still remains from an ancient Romaniote synagogue in Sardis dating from the 3rd century CE, which is the largest synagogue known from antiquity. It was so special to gather together in this ancient Jewish space; two of our participants actually put on Tefillin, thus continuing this sacred site’s legacy as a place for Jewish prayer and community.
As we approached the weekend, we made our way north to spend Shabbat in Istanbul with the Jewish community. We were honored to be hosted by Rabbi Nafi Haleva and the Jewish community at Ortaköy Etz Ahayim synagogue. We had an amazing Shabbat dinner together with other young Sephardic Jews in Istanbul, and some of our participants shared touching words on what it meant for them to visit their ancestral homeland for the first time. So many young Turkish Jews welcomed us and were eager to learn about our family connections, build new friendships, and explore potential business opportunities. Of course we enjoyed borekitas, kashkaval, huevos haminados, azetunas, bizcochos, and other treats, along with plenty of raki!
While in Istanbul we explored the numerous Jewish sites as well as the major tourist attractions of this magical city. We visited Neve Shalom, the Quincentennial Foundation Museum of Turkish Jews, Ahrida synagogue, Kal de los Frankos, Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, the Grand Bazaar, the Spice Market, Topkapi Palace, and much more.
We were lucky to have the opportunity to take a day trip to the gorgeous island of Büyükada, where we had a ton of fun at the Yildirim Sports and Beach Club.
Another unforgettable moment occurred when the young Jewish women from the beach club started performing Israeli folk dances, and some members of our group actually knew the steps from their childhood and joined the dance circle. We were so touched to meet multi-generational families at the beach club and chat in Ladino about our communities and our family traditions. Ladino is still a vibrant living language and it was inspiring to be able to connect using this shared language. The entire day was filled with smiles, swimming, and dancing, and everyone at the beach club was incredibly warm and welcoming.
Finally, we took a day trip to the city of Edirne where we saw the beautifully restored Kal Kadosh Gadol synagogue and met two local Jewish community members. We want to express our sincere thanks to all the participants who made the trip so memorable, and special thanks to the Jewish Community of Turkey, Berna Habib from Oasis Turizm, and our amazing guide Selim Puler for all their hospitality and hard work making this tour possible. It was truly a trip of a lifetime and we made new relationships and memories that we will cherish for years to come.
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