Jewish Spain

Now, more than five centuries after Spain violently expelled its Jews, the country is having a revival of interest in its Jewish Sephardic heritage. In fact, Sephardic culture has been going through a boom-with conferences, music festivals and even restaurants specializing in Sephardic cuisine.

The biggest push has come from the Spanish government, which has created a network linking 15 medieval Jewish cities across Spain in an initiatinve known as "Caminos de Sefarad" or "Sephardic Routes".

"This network is about bringing Jewish heritage to light", states Assumpcio Hosta, one of the co-creators of Sephardic Routes, speaking from her office in Girona, 60 miles nort of Barcelona.

For Girona and other similar sized cities like Jaen in the south to Oviedo and Tudela in the north, there is a new pride in revealing and showing the Jewish past. "We didn't have Einstein, but we had Maimonides", notes Hosta. "Now there is a lot of curiosity".

Today, there are over 40,000 Jews living in Spain, and the country has come long way in reconciling with its anti-Semitic past. Nowadays, Spaniards can tune into Radio Sefarad, read Jewish publications and even watch a weekly cultural TV show called "Shalom".

Jewish Girona

When you visit this Medieval Catalan city, you are visiting one of the oldest and most intact Jewish quarters in all of Europe, 100 kilometers north of Barcelona. The "Call" - Girona's Jewish Community- existed from the 9th century to the later years of the 15th century. Moreover it was one of the most important centers of Kabbalistic learning in all of Europe.

Our walking tour through the narrow cobblestone lanes, high stonewalls and step streets of the Call de Girona, allows visitors entrée to private courtyards and gardens. The tour departs from the Centre Bonastruc ça Porta, an institute of Jewish learning built around the old Synagogue on Carrer de la Força, the main artery of the medieval quarter which has remained amazingly intact over the centuries.

Following the tour, visitors will tour the Museu d'Història dels Jueus (Jewish History Museum) - which has developed a map of the maze-like streets and hosts small exhibits on Carrer de la Força. Containing the most accurate, information about medieval Jewish communities in Spain, particularly those in Catalonia, the museum's exhibits provide a picture of daily life in the quarter, Jewish traditions and the region's most influential calls. The Hebrew lapidary (tombstone) collection is considered to be one of the fines in the world.

Not to be missed is the new cultural complex - Bonastruc Ca Porta Centre - which recreates Sephardic Jewish life through musical events and food tastings. A visit can also be arranged to the Institute for Sephardic and Kabbalistic Studies, which hold important medieval Jewish manuscripts.

Also on the tour is the nearby Medieval town of Besalu, which has preserved a 12th century mikvah -one of the oldest in Europe.

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Jewish Segovia

The hilltop city of Segovia, which has been names a UNESCO World Heritage sites, is two hours north of Madrid by train. It is also cooler than Madrid in the summer -which is why it attracted the Spanish court, and still attracts tourists today.

There are two bridges in Segovia, according to its mayor: one if the renowned Roman aqueduct, the other is to the city's Jewish past. Not everyone knows that Segovia has one of the biggest Juderias in all of Spain.

Today's visitor tours the old Jewish cemetery with gravestones that go back to the 11th century. The black iron fence that runs the length of the walkway protecting pedestrians from the steep drop is decorated with abstract candelabras, menorahs alerting to the special nature of the ancient site.

Also on the tour is the former major synagogue of Segovia -now transformed into the Corups Christi Church. Similar in structure to Toledo's Santa Maria del Blanca, its interior is set off with graceful horseshoe arches and a cedar ceiling. It's a beautiful testimony to the wealth and culture of the Jewish community in medieval Segovia.

Lastly, you will visit the spectacular hilltop fortress that gave Segovia its name -"Ship of Stone". It was here that King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella signed the 1492 order expelling Jews from Spain.

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Jewish Barcelona

What remains in Barcelona today is but remnant of the rich Jewish Culture that existed during Spain's Golden Age. One of the main attractions that is still in existence is the ancient Call or Juderia and the main Synagogue of Barcelona.

Originally built during the fifth century, a new synagogue was later built on top of it in the fourteenth century and additional floors were added to the building subsequent centuries. Despite perhaps being the oldest synagogue in Europe, the Sinagoga Mayor was forgotten and abandoned until the 20th century. It was even used at one time as a storage warehouse and as a dry cleaner!

While there is little that remains of the former Jewish ghetto or Call of Barcelona, our guide is able to bring the history and culture of the quarter back to life.

Lying just outside Barcelona proper are two other ancient Jewish sites. The first is the ancient cemetery of Montjuic (lit. Jewish mountain) located on the western edge of the city. The ancient cemetery houses the last remains of some of the most notable members of the pre-explulsion Spanish community and is officially a city park.

This visit can be combined with the old city of Gerona, approximately 60 miles northeast of Barcelona. While there are few, if any, Jews currently residing in Gerona, this small city was once the home of the great Jewish sage Maimonides who defended the Spanish Jews in the thirteenth century at the Disputation of Barcelona.

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