Your private licensed tour guide will meet at the harbor / hotel's lobby to begin your tour of the major Jewish heritage sites in Istanbul. Transportation is via modern, comfortable air-conditioned car, van or mini-bus, appropriate to the size of your group. First we will drive to the Galata Quarter. The history of Jewish life in Galata began in Byzantine times when this was a walled city separate from Constantinople. After the Ottoman conquest of Istanbul in 1453, Jewish life in Galata was enlivened with the arrival of many new settlers, especially during the reign of Sultan Beyazit II. From the 1500s onward, Galata was mostly Jewish.

We will first visit Galata (Genoese) Tower. The tower was originally the high-point in the Genoese fortifications which protected the town of Galata during Byzantine and early Ottoman times. From the Galata Tower, we will walk to the Neve Shalom Synagogue. This is one of the largest synagogues in the city, designed and decorated in a modern style. Inaugurated on March 25, 1951, it is used for major functions of the community such as weddings and funerals. Before leaving Galata, we will also see a graceful curved double staircase, known as Kamondo Staircase. The staircase was built in the 19th century on the order of the Kamondos, the Jewish community´s most prosperous family.

Further we will proceed to the Zülfaris Synagogue which was restored to become a museum of Turkish Jewish life. Then after a short drive, we will reach the Balat Quarter. This is another of the quarters in which Jews were settled after their expulsion from Spain, enlarging a community which had lived here since Byzantine times. Though it once had as many as 19 synagogues, only two of importance remain, the Ahrida, and the neighboring Yanbol....