🏨 Half Day- Istanbul Jewish Heritage Walking Tour Activity

Half Day- Istanbul Jewish Heritage Walking Tour

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From $250.00

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Price varies by group size

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Pricing Info: Per Person

Duration: 4 hours

Departs: Istanbul, Istanbul

Ticket Type: Mobile or paper ticket accepted

Free cancellation

Up to 24 hours in advance.

Overview

Istanbul has had a vibrant Jewish community for more than 1,000 years. After the Turkish conquest of Istanbul, Sultan Mehmet II encouraged immigration to repopulate the city. Over half a million Jews persecuted in Spain and Portugal were encouraged to establish themselves within the boundaries of the Ottoman Empire. In Istanbul, the new immigrants settled mostly near Galata – a quarter on the northern bank of the Golden Horn – where a Jewish community had existed since the early days of the Ottoman Era in Istanbul. On this tour, you'll walk around Galata, exploring its intriguing streets full of colorful life. The tour includes synagogues, the Jewish Museum, Jewish Apartments, the amazing story of Abraham Kamondo, and other Jewish heritage sites.

Important Information

This tour requires minimum 2 pax per booking and may not be applicable during Jewish and Muslim religious holidays.

What's Included

Air-conditioned vehicle

Hotel Pick Up

Professional Guide

What's Not Included

Foods & Drinks

Hotel Drop Off

Personal Expenses

Traveler Information

INFANT: Age: 0 - 2
CHILD: Age: 3 - 6
ADULT: Age: 7 - 80

Additional Info

Due to Covid 19 Precautions, Jewish museum and sites will be visited only from outside until further notice.
Face masks required for guides in public areas
Gear/equipment sanitised between use
Hand sanitiser available to travellers and staff
Paid stay-at-home policy for staff with symptoms
Regularly sanitised high-traffic areas
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Transportation vehicles regularly sanitised

Contactless payments for gratuities and add-ons
Face masks provided for travellers
Face masks required for travellers in public areas
Guides required to regularly wash hands
Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
Regular temperature checks for staff
Social distancing enforced throughout experience
Temperature checks for travellers upon arrival

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

What To Expect

Karakoy

Our tour starts with hotel pick up and we'll head to Karaköy. Karaköy, the modern name for ancient Galata, is a commercial quarter in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, Turkey, located at the northern part of the Golden Horn mouth on the European side of Bosphorus.

Karaköy is one of the oldest and most historic districts of the city, and is today an important commercial center and transport hub. The location is connected with the surrounding neighborhoods through streets originating from Karaköy Square. The Galata Bridge links Karaköy to Eminönü in the southwest, Tersane Street to Azapkapı in the west, Voyvoda Street to Şişhane in the northwest, the steeply sloping Yüksek Kaldırım Street to Beyoğlu in the north, Kemeraltı Street and Necatibey Street to Tophane in the northeast.

• Admission Ticket Free

The Quincentennial Foundation Museum of Turkish Jews

After Karaköy, our next stop will be the famous Jewish Museum. The Quincentennial Foundation Museum Of Turkish Jews tells the story of 700 years of amity between Turks and Jews. The aim of the museum is to display the humanitarian sprit of the Turkish Nation and to show how the two cultures influenced each other through the past seven centuries.

The Museum collects, preserves, exhibits, interprets and disseminates knowledge about the cultural heritage of the Turkish Jews. It has three different sections that illustrate Turkish Jewish life, history, religion and culture of Jews in the Ottoman Empire and modern Turkey.

60 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Our third stop at The Ashkenazi Synagogue (Turkish: Aşkenazi Sinagogu) is an Ashkenazi synagogue located near the Galata Tower in Karaköy neighborhood of Beyoğlu in Istanbul, Turkey. It is the only currently active Ashkenazi synagogue in Istanbul open to visits and prayers. The synagogue was founded by Jews of Austrian origin in 1900. It is also the last remaining synagogue from a total of three built by Ashkenazim, as the population of Ashkenazi Jews accounts for 4 percent of the total Jewish population of Turkey. Visits to the synagogue can be made during weekday mornings and for Shabbat services on Saturday mornings.

The synagogue holds weddings, Bar Mitzvahs and other religious ceremonies in the Ashkenazi tradition.

Rabbi Dr. David Marcus, who also established the Jewish school Bene Berit, served as Rabbi and spiritual leader until his death in 1938.

60 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Beyoglu

Our tour goes on with Beyoğlu which is most famous district in Turkey. Listen the interesting facts by our guide while strolling around in this historical and multicultural magical place. Beyoğlu (BEY-oh-loo) is the district on the north bank of the Golden Horn, from Karaköy (Galata) and the Galata Bridge to Taksim Square.

In the 1800s this was the newer, more European section of Istanbul (Constantinople). Embassies were built here, foreign merchants lived and worked here, and they shopped at the posh boutiques along the Grande Rue de Péra, now called İstiklal Caddesi.

• Admission Ticket Free

Kamondo Stairs

After Beyoğlu, we'll head to Kamondo stairs which built by a Jewish family and we'll listen its intetresting story by our guide. Contributing to this chain of contrasts is the Camondo Stairs – built at the end of the 19th century by the influential Sephardic banker family, the house of Camondo. Legend has it that the family had the stairs built so that their kids could take a shortcut on their way to school. No matter what its intention, this art-nouveau piece contributes greatly to the urban fabric of Karaköy, and provides a stylish hike up towards the Galata Tower as well as a great set for your Istanbul photos.

60 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Balat

Our last stop will be tje Balat is the old Jewish quarter of Istanbul, located on the southern bank of the Golden Horn between the Ataturk and Fatih bridges. Centuries ago, many Jews expelled from Spain used to live there along with Christian communities of the Ottoman Empire, the common point between all of them being their extreme poverty.

Nowadays, the neighborhood doesn’t look like it has prospered a lot, but it has kept its charm with the old, beautiful architecture, multicolored buildings and little curtains on the windows, with a blue sky above.

60 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

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Half Day- Istanbul Jewish Heritage Walking Tour Activity - Istanbul Travel Guide

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