Serving the Jewish people in Spain since 1985 Viladomat 289 *BARCELONA 08029 Tf. 93 321 05 04 * Fx. 93 439 56 56 [email protected] * www.plusforspain.com

ROUTES OF SEFARAD THE NETWORK OF JEWISH SPANISH QUARTERS THE JEWISH HERITAGE IN SPAIN Sefarad Luxury Jewish Spain: Andalusia * Barcelona & Catalonia * Madrid & Castile

The presence of the Jewish people has lived in SPAIN, leaving many memories and great archaeological history. It is present in more than sixty cities and towns in the country. Spain is the country that the Jews felt like more of their own, to make it fully theirs. We can ensure that a very important part of our being of Spanish origins is Jewish. The Spanish Jewish communities are in cities that we were linked forever to the Jewish history. The Jewish culture is the transmission of knowledge’s and the creation of scientific works in Spanish culture. Nowadays, the Sephardim, that is to say the descendants of Spanish Jews deported by the five continents, have maintained the Spanish language as a vehicle for expression of their culture. There is evidence that during the times of King Solomon and taking advantage of the journeys from the Phoenicians, the first Jews settled in the Iberian Peninsula. Subsequently and during the Roman period the arrival is organized until the Visigoth period in which there are periods of peaceful coexistence and other of persecutions.

With the arrival of the Muslims it opens flowering chapter of the stay of the Jews and thereby produces an effect called by the Jews from other areas, especially in North Africa until the arrival of Radical Islamism that leads to the conversion or death.

During the Christian reconquest of the lands of Al-Andalus the Jews enjoy a certain freedom and Toledo became the focal point of Jewish life. Once conquered Granada and completed the reconquest it is when the problems begin for Sephardic Jews, who were those living in their own land: Sefarad. In this case, the Christian integrism driven perhaps by a lack of knowledge of the Jewish religion, there are revolts against Spanish Jews that culminate with the expulsion (1492). The intention is to turn to Christianity those who stay and keep their property or emigrate to other countries. Most opted for this last situation and thus the presence of Jews in Spain practically disappeared. It was not until the arrival of the contemporary period when it was created after the state of Israel and the Jews had many of those institutional representatives who were forced to leave Sefarad returned to their promised land. Nowadays the Spanish Jews enjoy a complete freedom and develop their activities within the total normality which corresponds to democratic legal condition like Spain.

Considering that the deportation order involves the departure from Spain to other countries of the expelled Jews, this faithful preparation in the field of commerce, medicine, theology, poetry, philosophy and literature established communities in the cities where they settled, following in their genes to keep alive the legacy received and the vivid memory of Sefarad. Therefore, these Sephardic communities always had present in their leisure time activities and making a visit or a trip to their beloved Sefarad (Spain).

SEFARAD: LUXURY JEWISH SPAIN ANDALUSIA DELUXE ITINERARY Andalusian Jewish Quarters Lucena * Jaen * Cordoba * Sevilla.

Day 1.- Arrival to Malaga Transfer to the Hotel. Overnight.

Day 2.- Drive to Lucena Lucena, The Pearl of Sefarad: a responsum given by Rabbi Natronai ben Hilai, gaon of Sura, in the year 853, states that although the Arabs did not permit the growth of the Jewish community in Cordoba at the time, many Jews lived in the neighbouring town of Lucena: there is not gentile among you. The oldest evidence of correspondence between the gaons of Babylon and the Jewish rabbis of Lucena and Barcelona dates back to the mid 9th century. It is the late 9th century when Eleazar ibn Samuel Hurga, one of the most prominent Spanish Jewish scholars of the time, conducts his work in Lucena.

Families of converts, attracted by the fame of Lucena in times past and the desire to live in the land of their ancestors, settled in Lucena during the 16th century and beforehand, and who from the late 1500s to the early 1600s held a considerable number of important positions in local society such as members of the city council and clerks. The most important material finding in recent Lucena history in relation to Jewish culture was the discovery of the Jewish necropolis in 2007, from which 346 tombs were excavated in the southern ring road area. A further 50 tombs were discovered in a neighbouring area in 2011. The first excavation revealed a gravestone with an epitaph dedicated to rabbi Lactosus, similar to that of the aforementioned rabbi Amicus, discovered in a stone wall at calle Santiago, 2, in 1958. In late 2011, remains from the Jewish necropolis of Lucena were exhumed by the Spanish Federation of Jewish Communities and the Lucena City Council.

Lucena city tour: We visit the Jewish quarter, the church of San Mateo, place of the former synagogue. The house of Rico de Rueda, the churches of Santiago and Madre de Dios, the Palace of the Count of Santa Ana and the Castle of Moral, originally a medieval fortress. RASGO Hotel Convento de Santo Domingo 4*: 30 rooms. The building was once a convent of the order of the Minimums also known as convent of Santo Domingo and it still has a beautiful 18th century cloister. Restaurant Aguanevada of the Hotel Convento de Santo Domingo.

Day 3.- Drive to Jaen Although the first conserved documents date back almost to Visigothic times in 612 when King Sise but forbade the Jews of Jaén by law from having Christian slaves, this presence of Jews in the city would seem to suggest that the Jewish collective arrived much earlier. Undoubtedly, the first Jewish communities set up in Jaén in Roman times and hence the Jewish community which inhabited Jaén was already important in the 7th century. The defeat of the Visigoths and the arrival of the Moslem entailed freedom for the Jews of the city. It is more than likely that they helped the new rulers and the Jewish community prospered during the initial age of Islamic domination in the 8th century. It is known that in the 9th century Jaén had a synagogue and next to it a Yeshiva or centre where studies were provided about the la Torah and the Talmud. The geographer Abd al-Nūr Al-Himyari states that in the late 9th century there were four hammam or Moslem baths in Jaén powered by water from the Raudal de la Magdalena, one of which was the Hammam Ibn Ishaq, the Bath of Ben Isaac, a clearly Jewish association. This bath may have been owned by Isaac Ben Saprut, the father of the famed doctor and diplomat Hasday Ben Saprut. As from 2002 archaeological excavations have been carried out inside the urban fabric of the Jewish quarter and there, at the plot between Martínez Molina al Sur, Santa Clara in the North, San Andrés in the West and Los Caños and Murcia in the East streets, a structure has been revealed which could be identified with a bath which may have been that of Ibn Isaac. The study is still ongoing.

Jaen city tour: We visit the jewish quarter and oldest part of Jaén which is dominated by the Arab fortress that stands on Santa Catalina hill. The Castle of Santa Catalina currently houses the Parador de Turismo. At its feet, the oldest districts spread around the churches of La Magdalena, San Juan and San Ildefonso. But the core of this historic quarter is Santa Iglesia Cathedral. It is a monumental Renaissance building from the 16th century.

Parador de Jaen 4****: 45 rooms. An exceptional 13th century arabic Castle-fortress of Santa Catalina, located on a hill with excellent views of the city and the countryside. The building's majestic appearance continues inside with the impressive 20 meters high arches in the main hall. Restaurant of the Parador de Jaen.

Day 4.- Drive to Cordoba

A visit to the Jewish quarter in Córdoba will allow you to follow a route packed with charm and magic which, outside the conventional circuits, gradually reveals spots which still retain the medieval memory of the city of three cultures. Judíos street, the location of the synagogue, the Sefarad house, the souk and Tiberiades square, constitutes the main core of a visit which provides a perfect reconstruction of the history of the community where a character of universal projection like Maimonides was born, or where some of the most illustrious Jews of their time excelled like Hasday ibn Shaprut from Jaen or Yehuda ha-Leví and Abraham ibn Ezrá from Tudela.

The Jewish presence in Córdoba is almost as old as the city itself. Having arrived in Andalusia, according to the old chronicles, in the days of King Solomon, it is more than likely that the first Jewish families that set up in Córdoba did so along with the Romans. By contrast to the tolerance of the latter, the succession of restrictive measures implemented by the Visigoths, in particular after the conversion to Christianity of Recaredo in 589, led to the Jews openly supporting the Moslem conquest of 711. It was from this juncture onwards that the so-called Golden Age of Spanish Judaism occurred when the Rabbinic academies of Córdoba were so renowned the Jewish ministers of the caliphs.

Day 5.- Cordoba Cordoba city tour: The pretty and lovely city of Córdoba, declared World Heritage City. The tour visits the Great Mosque-Cathedral which is a unique architectural space, the Alcazar fortress, the Jewish quarter, the Synagogue and the Sefarad House.

RASGO Hotel Las Casas de la Judería 4*: 64 rooms. Its rehabilitation as a hotel has been carried out with the utmost respect for history and architecture of the building, resulting in a singular charm hotel, in an environment of great beauty, to enjoy of peace and tranquility. Hotel Palacio del Bailio 5*.

RASGO Restaurant Bodegas Mezquita: a typical andalusian Tavern-Wine-Restaurante offering traditional and gastronomic specialities of the region. Nice place to enjoy a meal or Tapas. Restaurant La Almudaina.

Day 6.- Drive to Sevilla The Jewish quarter of Seville included the current districts of Santa Cruz, Santa María la Blanca and San Bartolomé and it was separated from the rest of the city by a wall which came down from the start of Conde Ibarra street, passing through Mercedarias square, as far as the city wall. In general, there is a consensus amongst historians that since very distant times the children of Israel set up commercial relations with the Iberian tribes. Since that time, the Jewish ships started to arrive at the famous Tarsis, in other words, the magnificent Spanish region which owes its name to Tartesus or Guadalquivir.

It is possible that the Jewish quarter of Seville has been, if not the oldest, then one of the oldest in Spain. Hispalis (Seville) was, in actual fact, the key place in the Peninsula and Scipio later made it his capital. The Jews must have felt attracted by this big city which lent its name to the whole of Hispania.

During the Visgoth era we assume the Sevillian Jewish quarter had a considerable influence as, in view of what they were like in trade and industry, they must have prospered where there was more wealth and population. What´s more, Seville was the most highly populated city in Spain, the intellectual capital of the kingdom, the centre of Catholicism, the inspiration for the councils of Toledo and the political capital from Teudis to Atanagildo. It was thus there that they must have carried out their activity and applied their capital.

Flamenco Show at Tablao Palacio Andaluz: driving through the streets of Sevilla by night, you may admire the illuminated fountains, monuments and plazas. A delicious dinner will be enjoyed at a "Tablao Flamenco" including wines and coffee. Afterwards watch a typical Flamenco Show where a performance of flamenco folklore will thrill you.

Day 7.- Sevilla

Sevilla city tour Panoramic tour of the city with the Plaza de España and Maria Luisa Park. Afterwards the walking tour with the royal Alcazar fortress and gardens, the Casa Sefarad Al-Andalus, the third largest cathedral in the world and walking through the Barrio de Santa Cruz former jewish quarter.

Hotel Palacio de Villapanés 5* Restaurante la Albahaca.

Day 8.- Departure Sevilla. Transfer to the airport. PRICES ON REQUEST

EXTENSION: BARCELONA & CATALONIA DELUXE Some Catalonian Jewish Quarters Barcelona * Girona * Besalu * Castello d´Empuries

Barcelona The presence of Jews in Barcelona has been documented since the existence of the Jewish quarter in the city, though it is not known whether they already formed a community. In around 850, tradition has it that there is a letter from the gaon Amram de Sura (Babylon) to the Jews of Barcelona. In 877 the Jew Judacot served as an emissary between Charles II, the Bald, of France, and the people of Barcelona and the handing over to the bishop Frodoí of ten pounds of silver to repair their church. During Almanzor's attack on Barcelona (985) several Jews died and the properties of those who had no heirs passed into the hands of the count.

The Usatges of Barcelona (1053-1071) include some provisions relating to the Jews. The first documentary evidence of a Jewish quarter in Barcelona dates back to the 11th century when a street is mentioned que solebat ire ad callem judaicum. The word call means «little road» or «alley». The names spread to the whole set of streets occupied by the Jews, in other words, the Jewish quarter, and the community of Jews received the name of Moorish quarter. The municipal authorities had no jurisdiction over the Call which was directly answerable to the king or the royal bailiffs, but as from the 14th century restrictive ordinances for the Jews were issued referring solely to situations or actions outside the Call quarter. As in the rest of the Spanish communities, the Jews of Barcelona passed through different stages of cohabitation with the rest of the city dwellers. Whilst in the 11th century the famous Jewish writer and traveller Benjamín de Tudela described in his Book of journeys (Sefer Masaot) the existence of a holy community of wise, prudent men and great princes, at other times, especially as from the 14th and 15th centuries, the Jews of Barcelona saw how the Jewish quarter had become a ghetto where they were segregated, confined and sometimes attacked. Of the many references in Barcelona there is the unforgettable case of Montjuïc, the Mons Judaicus or mountain of the Jews where the Jewish community buried their dead for centuries. Inside the call the Jews lived according to the Jewish religious calendar, observed the Sabbaths and religious festivals according to their laws and customs, studied classical texts like the Bible and the Talmud, got married and divorced according to Jewish law, came before the bet din when there were quarrels and maintained their own social, religious and teaching institutions. They also developed their culture and created master pieces which would become part of universal Jewish literature.

Visit the Santa Eulalia Cathedral, the Gothic and Jewish Quarters (Call Mayor and Call Menor), the old Synagogue and las Ramblas walking promenade. Drive to the Montjuic Mountain with lovely views over the city and Ports and the Gaudi modernista buildings.

RASGO Hotel Neri 4*: 22 rooms. Located in the heart of the gothic quarter, combines echoes of history with a sophisticated and contemporary style. Boutique Hotel and gastronomic restaurant. Hotel Claris 5* Hotel Majestic 5* RASGO Restaurant el Pintor: a typical local restaurant located in the heart of the Jewish and gothic quarter serving traditional Catalonian cuisine. Restaurant Delicias Kosher Restaurant Kosher Club Restaurant La Dama

Girona-Barcelona The labyrinthic distribution and medieval atmosphere of its streets, the steep steps make frequently avoid the different levels of urban orography, the charm of the barri vellshops, the historic and didactic contribution of the Bonastruc ça Porta centre and, in particular, the firm commitment to recovering the old Jewish quarter make the Girona Jewish quarter into a unique, fascinating place.

The transformations the district underwent after expulsion of the Jews in 1492 have not prevented the call dels jueus from retaining today a large part of this Kabbalistic mystery which characterised the Jews of Girona in an environment which has remained in exactly the same spot since the Middle Ages.

Thanks to the documentation preserved from the Early Middle Ages, we know that between 888 and 890 around twenty five Jewish families settled in the vicinity of Girona cathedral. They arrived thanks to Count Delawho brought them after acquiring the Juïges building as his home (in LatinJudaicas) in the county of Besalú where they had lived up till that time. Much later the term Jewish call or callis iudaicus appeared in a document dated July 20th 1160. The community had been growing with new families until in the 14th centiry it already numbered around one thousand, ten per cent of the city's population. From Devesa park, alongside the Punto de Bienvenida (Welcoming Point) of the city, an excellent vision is obtained of the callas a whole, located right in the heart of the Roman Gerunda and the medieval Girona. The oldest documentary references with regard to the settlements of Girona inhabited or owned by Jews appear as from 930. At that time the Jews, scant in number, probably lived in an area near the cathedral, around the former Cardo Maximus. It was here where the first synagogue must have been located dated 988. During the 10th and 11th centuries various documentary references already appear to Jews who lived in the spot which, years later, would become known as the call. This space was owned by the chapterhouse in the 11th century and was not yet an exclusively Jewish site. Excursion to this important medieval city, with the Call Jewish quarter, the Bonastruc ça Porta Jewish center, located in the emblematic building that housed the last synagogue of Girona, it is currently the home of the Museum of the History of the Jews and the Nahmanides Institute for Jewish studies. The Arab baths, the gothic Cathedral and the Monastery of Sant Pere de Galligants.

RASGO Restaurant el Pati Verd: located in the ground floor of the Hotel Carlemany. A gastronomic oasis surrounded by elegant vegetation and combining traditional and creative cuisine. Restaurant Massana.

Besalu-Castello d´Empuries-Barcelona The Jews set up in the county of Besalú as from the 9th century but we are unable to find any written documentation of their presence until the 13th century. The oldest documents date back to 1229 when King Jaime I the Conqueror informed the Jews of Besalú and Girona that at the behest of the papal legate of Gregory IX and at the requests of the Bishop of Girona Guillem de Cabanelles, notaries were forbidden from issuing loan contracts with interest at twenty per cent. The Jews held official posts in the city and in the Jewish quarter in particular such as bailiffs and secretaries of the aljama: in 1274 this was held by Cresques Perfet and ten years later by Belshom Leví, Benveniste Zabarra and Vidal Tauler.

Visit the county town of Besalú that conserves a unique set of Jewish heritage in Catalonia: a Mikveh from the 12th century and traces of a synagogue closed in the 13th century. In 1966 Besalú was declared a national historic-artistic site. The Romanesque bridge, the Jewish quarter, and church of Sant Pere. RASGO Restaurant Curia Reial: located in a Romanesque-Gothic historic building from the 13th-14th centuries. Specialized in local and traditional dishes with a creative touch.

The Jewish quarter of Castelló d´Empúries, after that of Girona, was the most important one in the diocese. The original Jewish call of Castelló d´Empúries came about in the first half of the 13th century in the southeast of the settlement, around the district of Puig de l´Eramala where the first synagogue was built. It still retains the name of carrer dels Jueus (Jews street). There is scarcely any documentation regarding this synagogue, though there is data as from its disposal in the late 13th century and its recovery towards the middle of the 15th century. The building was left in disuse with the increase in the aljama population making it necessary to build a new synagogue nearer the nerve centre of the town in Puig Mercadal. At present two of the most emblematic stately homes of Castelló d´Empúries form part of the block where the first synagogue was located. Can Sanllehí and Can Cassanyes are situated to the north and west of the synagogue which may originate in the buildings of two of the most important, richest Jews in the town: Bernat Bussiges, a merchant and Cresques Bonafos Susau.

Visit the Jewish quarter, the Basilica of Saint Mary with the Virgin of the Candelera, the patron saint of the town, the medieval History Museum in gothic style and the Town Hall. RASGO Restaurant Emporium: located at the Hotel Emporium with traditional cooking with local and ecological products from the Emporda area.

PRICES ON REQUEST

EXTENSION: MADRID & CASTILE DELUXE Some Castilian Jewish Quarters Toledo * Segovia * Avila

Madrid Madrid city tour. Jews had settled in Madrid around the synagogue, located where today stands the church of San Lorenzo, in the Lavapies quarter. In fact, some historians believe that this name comes from the old fountain which served the Jews to perform their ritual washing before going to temple. Very close by, on the street Salitre, archaeologists have found remains of an ancient Hebrew cemetery. At that time the Jews were forced to live in the Jewish quarter, which in 1391 was closed with a fence. Only medical doctors, so that they could help their patients, could live outside. The synagogue communicated with the plaza de Lavapiés through the street that is now called Fe, then called street of the synagogue. The year of 1391 the Jewish quarter suffered a pogrom; the greatest massacres of Jews were in the present day streets of Fe, Salitre, Ave Maria, Sombrerete, and Jesus y Maria. Many Jewish families lived in the Lavapies quarter until the days of the expulsion in 1492. The first names Manolo and Manola designation given to the truly authentic Madrid originates in Lavapies, and is said to have its origin in the profusion of name Manuel, that many “converses” Jews took to escape the expulsion in 1492.

The shadow of the Inquisition may be recalled at the Plaza Mayor, the square where public executions (auto de fe) of Jews were carried out. . Jews began to return to Spain in the nineteenth century, and established a synagogue in Madrid in 1917. After the Republican government was defeated by Franco's forces in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), Catholicism was proclaimed the official State religion and the synagogues were closed. A number of Jewish families arrived after the 1956 anti-Semitic violence in Morocco, and soon established informal house synagogues. The present synagogue was built in 1968, after passage of the "Religious Freedom Law" of 1967.

Today, some thousand Jews, mostly from North Africa, make their home in Madrid. The Beth Yaacov Synagogue is home to the Jewish Community Center of Madrid, Madrid’s main Jewish institution, complete with day school and library, celebration hall, recreational facilities, mikveh and Historical Museum of the Jewish Community of Madrid. Visit is made to the two most famous structures of the city: the Royal Palace, the home of Spanish Royalty from the 18th century until the time of exile of king Alfonso XIII. Today it is used as the setting for official receptions by the present King of Spain, Juan Carlos I. The Prado Museum is one of the world’s great art galleries. It displays paintings from the 12th to the 18th century. The most famous exhibits are those of Velázquez, Goya and El Greco. A view of the old Jewish quarter and the Casa Sefarad located at the Cañete Palace. Hotel Urban 5* Hotel Villa Real 5* Hotel Hospes Madrid 5* Restaurant La Escudilla: it is located in the neighbourhood of Chamberí and offers kosher food and northafrican dishes as the owners are coming from Tangiers.

Restaurant Zalacain.

Toledo-Madrid Rightly regarded as a true «city within a city», the madinat al-Yahud, or city of the Jews, constitutes a broad urban space which occupies almost ten per cent of walled Toledo. Divided, in turn, into different districts which correspond to the different stages of its expansion, the Jewish quarter of Toledo is an intricate maze which needs to be marked out in order to gain a real overview of what the Jews of Toledo were like and how they lived for at least eleven centuries.

Although the oldest written documents date their presence back to the 4th century, in the context of the Roman Toletum, the Sephardi goes further back and relates the Jews to the very mythical origin of the city, deeming it likely that the first Jews arrive in the Iberian Península at the time of the Assyrian and Babylonian exiles in the 8th to 6th centuries B.C. Historically speaking, there is sufficient evidence of the Jewish presence as from the approval of anti-Jewish measures or the confirmation of the previous ones carried out at the different councils held in the city. Under the Visigoth monarchy (5th to 8th centuries), the period when Toledo was the capital of the kingdom, the Jews formed a numerous colony and hence the existence of a Jewish quarter can be assumed from at least the 6th century.

Excursion to Toledo, one of the oldest and most interesting historical cities of Europe, reflects the many cultures that have formed it, and perhaps better than any other city reflects the many moods of Spain’s art and history. Visits are made to the magnificent Gothic Cathedral, the ancient Jewish Synagogues and Jewish quarter, Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes and the Church of San Tomé with the painting of El Greco. Restaurant Adolfo.

Segovia-Madrid Closed by seven gates as from 1481, the Jewish quarter of Segovia comprises a space which is totally delimited on the southern side of the walled city, a district now made up of the remains of synagogues, palaces, museums and buildings which evoke its Jewish past, distributed amongst a set of streets rife with medieval mystery. A walk through the Jewish quarter – revealing a city quite distinct from that of the conventional routes through Segovia of the Aqueduct and the Citadel – is further complemented by a visit to the Jewish cemetery of Pinarillo on the other side of Clamores stream where there are some remains of burials which are of great value. The first indications of the presence of Jews in the city of Segovia date back to 1215 when Giraldo, the bishop of the city, placed a ban on gambling between Jews and Christians in the parish of San Miguel right in the centre of the city. This reveals a context of daily cohabitation between the two groups and the settlement of the Jews in the centre of Segovia since at least slightly before this time. Forty years later in 1252, the presence of the Jews in the city is a wholly consolidated fait accompli as can be gathered from the mandate set by Pope Innocent IV to the Segovian bishop Raimundo de Losana in which he requires Jews to wear a distinctive sign on their attire.

Excursion to Segovia, universally famous for the Aqueduct, an imposing engineering marvel dating from Roman times. Here there is also a visit to the Alcazar, an enchanting fairytale fortress castle and the Jewish quarter. RASGO Restaurant el Fogon Sefardi: it is located in a building from the 15th century specialised in exquisite Sephardic Gastronomy and traditional Castillian Cuisine.

Avila-Madrid The first documentary evidence of the Hebrew presence in Ávila dates back to 1144: Alfonso VII assigned the tithe pertaining to the Jews' annual income to the Cathedral. This is the first specific reference but there are many preceding versions further steeped in mythology until the actual foundation of the city. Some say that there were Jews in Ávila well before in Hispano-Roman times. Further evidence backing up this theory is the very legend of how the original Basilica of San Vicente was founded in the 4th century when on the same site as it is in today a Jew built the first martyrial church dedicated to the Vincentian saints Sabina and Cristeta. In his History of the great Events of the City of Avila, Friar Luis Ariz stated in 1607 - after the taking of the city from the Moslems by the Castilian king Alfonso VI - the first contingents of Jews arrived in around 1085 as part of the repopulation being arranged by his son-in-law Count Raymond of Burgundy.The Jews of Ávila were mainly involved in craft-based activity, particularly rich cloth trading. This prosperity allowed, inter alia, the learned Moses de León, settled at the house of Yuçaf de Ávila, the King's tax collector, to put the finishing touches here to his Sefer ha-Zohar or Book of Splendour which closes the great trilogy of Jewish Kabbalistic mysticism along with the Talmud and the Bible. Nissim ben Abraham wrote in this city too, better known as the Ávila prophet, his Book of the wonders of wisdom, and here the heights of Christian mysticism were reached by Teresa of Jesus and John of the Cross, the offspring of New Christians rooted in old families of Jewish stock.

Excursion to Avila, a fortified city situated on an hilltop in the heart of Castile with impressive medieval walls, the oldest and best preserved in Spain. A visit will be made to the Convent of Santa Teresa, the old Jewish quarter, the Royal Monastery of Santo Tomas and the Cathedral.

RASGO Restaurant La Bruja: a former House-Palace from the 16th century belonging to the marchioness of Casa Muñoz. It is located in the same building as the Hotel Las Leyendas. Traditional and modern cuisine and a good wine selection.

PRICES ON REQUEST

Note: any other Tour of the Spanish Jewish Quarters will be on request.

SHALOM PLUS TRAVEL SPAIN Viladomat 289 *BARCELONA 08029 Tf. 93 321 05 04 * Fx. 93 439 56 56 [email protected] * www.plusforspain.com