Jewish Istanbul

[Shelley G]

Does anyone have any suggestions for a tour company that conducts tours of Jewish Istanbul with inside visits to the synagogues? Some of the ones I have seen are extremely expensive and I can't find any recent reviews of the companies. Thanks.

Shelley

[ohshuns]

Does anyone have any suggestions for a tour company that conducts tours of Jewish Istanbul with inside visits to the synagogues? Some of the ones I have seen are extremely expensive and I can't find any recent reviews of the companies. Thanks.

Shelley

 

My ship (Vision of the Seas) is offering a 5 hour tour which includes a visit to the Eskenazzi* Synagogue (other synagogues will be viewed from outside only) for $32. So perhaps your cruise line will offer a similar tour. Here's the description:

 

This tour is designed for guests interested in the Jewish heritage in Istanbul. Balat will be the first destination where you will see the oldest existing synagogue in Istanbul called Synagogue of Ahrida (exterior view only) and Or-Ahayim Hospital (exterior view only). The second place of interest will be Galata district where you will see Neva Shalom Synagogue (from outside), visit the Eskenasi Synagogue, Schneider Temple and Turkish Jews Museum. Conclude your day of touring the exotic Grand Bazaar.

 

*I spelled Eskenazzi wrong on purpose. If you spell it with 1 "z" it gets censored.

[nana541]

Shelley - go over to the Ports Med board there are many further threads about Istanbul.... You may get better info there

[ksps cruise fan]

Does anyone have any suggestions for a tour company that conducts tours of Jewish Istanbul with inside visits to the synagogues? Some of the ones I have seen are extremely expensive and I can't find any recent reviews of the companies. Thanks.

Shelley

 

My husband and I took a half day tour with Plan Tours that I recommend highly. We went inside every synagogue.

 

Even the process of entering the synagogues was fascinating. In 2003, two synagogues were bombed. Neve Synagogue, the synagogue that is currently in use for the Jews in Istanbul, was one of the bombed places and it now has seriously impressive security measures in place. We had to fax copies of our passports well in advance so the security office could do a security check on us. Arriving, we entered through an isolation room secured by heavy steel doors while security guards visually confirmed that we were the owners of the passports submitted earlier. One one level this was a despressing commentary about the modern society and on another level it was a fascinating experience.

 

Inside each synagogue the talk was given in a variety of ways: the rabbi himself, a representative of the synagogue, and our own private guide. Sometimes our guide showed us things in rooms outside the sanctuary even if someone else had given that portion of the tour. (I believe we gave a nominal donation at every synagogue we visited, too.)

 

No other synagogue required the same level of security, but there's at least some level of security everywhere. That's certainly one reason the ship tours just do drive by visits and can keep the tour price low.

 

Logistics: We had a private guide and a driver throughout the tour. The driver is essential since many of the synagogues are in the older parts of the city where parking simply does not exist. The driver would drop us off outside the front entrance and wait elsewhere until getting a phone call from our guide.

 

This was a very, very special experience.

 

Your original post does not mention the date/s of your visit. Touring with Plan Tours requires significant advance preparation. I suspect this is the same for any company taking clients inside.

 

Here's the link to Plan Tours:

 

http://www.plantours.com/RL_Default.aspx

[MarleneAm]

My husband and I took a half day tour with Plan Tours that I recommend highly. We went inside every synagogue.

 

Even the process of entering the synagogues was fascinating. In 2003, two synagogues were bombed. Neve Synagogue, the synagogue that is currently in use for the Jews in Istanbul, was one of the bombed places and it now has seriously impressive security measures in place. We had to fax copies of our passports well in advance so the security office could do a security check on us. Arriving, we entered through an isolation room secured by heavy steel doors while security guards visually confirmed that we were the owners of the passports submitted earlier. One one level this was a despressing commentary about the modern society and on another level it was a fascinating experience.

 

Inside each synagogue the talk was given in a variety of ways: the rabbi himself, a representative of the synagogue, and our own private guide. Sometimes our guide showed us things in rooms outside the sanctuary even if someone else had given that portion of the tour. (I believe we gave a nominal donation at every synagogue we visited, too.)

 

No other synagogue required the same level of security, but there's at least some level of security everywhere. That's certainly one reason the ship tours just do drive by visits and can keep the tour price low.

 

Logistics: We had a private guide and a driver throughout the tour. The driver is essential since many of the synagogues are in the older parts of the city where parking simply does not exist. The driver would drop us off outside the front entrance and wait elsewhere until getting a phone call from our guide.

 

This was a very, very special experience.

 

Your original post does not mention the date/s of your visit. Touring with Plan Tours requires significant advance preparation. I suspect this is the same for any company taking clients inside.

 

Here's the link to Plan Tours:

 

http://www.plantours.com/RL_Default.aspx

_________________________________________________

Go with the recommendation above. When I was in Turkey on a land tour in 2005 and we wanted to visit Neve Shalom, we had to fax copies of our passports a week in advance and even then it was up in the air til the last minute. Neve Shalom was first bombed in 1986 after terrorists came in and machine gunned the congregation, so they have to be very careful. I also had to fax a copy of my passport a week in advance to visit the Synagauge in Izmir. The arrangements for both were made by the company I was touring with. They hired a private guide for me in Izmir. Considering the current strained relationship of Turkey and Israel, you would be lucky to find a company that was willing to make these arrangements for you, so go with the company the poster recommeded.

And remember to give donations for the upkeep of any synaguages you see.

[farbster]

We used Isak Eski****'s company (you can google him). We booked late and therefore got a semi retired guide (her nickname was GG). She was really great. She was a little older and worked only part time for them. She was extremely nice and knowledgeable. She was not Jewish, but Isak and his wife are. Even though she was a Muslim, she knew all about the synagogues.

 

I would strongly recommend using a tour for the shuls. You will need to fax your passport etc. to them and they will make the arrangements. Security was very heavy and they did want to see our passport to compare to what we faxed. If you don't use a tour guide, you have to fill out paperwork etc and do it yourself. I suspect the shuls are on a rotating schedule and we ended up following people from our cruise from shul to shul.

 

We saw three shuls and one changed as they substituted one due to a closure.

 

We actually used GG for our touring in Istanbul and she was great.

[ZZROX]

I booked 2 half day tours with Isak. We are sailing from Istanbul and won't have enough time for a full day tour. Doing half a day the afternoon we arrive. The other half the morning before we get on the ship.

[giraffelt]

We just came back from Istanbul last night. Flew there from Athens after our Oceania Riviera cruise. We spent 3 1/2 days in Istanbul and spent two of those days touring with a private guide. Yusaf Bar David and his two sisters offer private tours. His sister Fani was our guide.

 

I had worked out an itinerary with yusaf in advance that gave us a great overview of the main highlights of Istanbul including visiting the Ashke**** synagogue. We could have visited more synagogues but it was our choice not to given all the fantastic sights in Istanbul. We did everything on our itinerary plus extras.

Just before we left for our cruise I realized that the day we were to visit the synagogue,which is an operating synagogue, was the second day of Shuvaot. No problem was the reply I received.

Our guide Fani, knew the shamos at the synagogue and we had no problem to go in, we didn't even have to provide our passport information in advance.

Fani also took us to the present Jewish area and showed us the two cemeteries , Sephardic and Ashkenaze and the Jewish high school which weren't on the original itinerary. It was very educational learning about contemporary jewish live in Istanbul from a jew who has lived there her entire life.

As it happened the Patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church was performing a service the first morning of our tour - a special event, Fani ask if we would like to go there - it was equivalent of seeing the Pope conducting mass in the Vatican up close.

I can highly recommend Yusaf and Fani. Yusaf doesn't have a website as all his business comes exclusively through referrals. He can be reached at yusuf2002@superonline.com

[cruisecountess]

We have Yusef booked for a full-day tour for July, 2013. He has been very easy to work with, answering e-mails promptly and offering suggestions for itinerary. His prices are competitive and we look forward to our Jewish tour of Istanbul next year.

[hgmdym]

I booked 2 half day tours with Isak. We are sailing from Istanbul and won't have enough time for a full day tour. Doing half a day the afternoon we arrive. The other half the morning before we get on the ship.

 

Hi,

When are you going to be in istabul? We will be there oct 30 and sail out nov 1 on marina. We would like to join a small Jewish heritage tour. Any chance our dates match up?

 

Hgmdym@aol.com

[ZZROX]

We're sailing from Istanbul on 7/17/12. Wish you could have joined us!

[londondave]

We are going to Istanbul on Friday, 3rd August and looking to visit the synagogue.

Does anyone have any informaton or would like to join us?

[ksps cruise fan]

We are going to Istanbul on Friday, 3rd August and looking to visit the synagogue.

Does anyone have any informaton or would like to join us?

 

Don't wait too long to make arrangements. If "the" synagogue you'd like to visit is Neve Synagogue, the one currently in use, you'll have to FAX your tour provider copies of your passport so they can do a security check of you and that takes time. If "the" synagogue is the oldest one, the one with a bema shaped like the Ark, I don't know whether passport information is required. We had sent our passports already because we intended visiting both places.

 

On our trip, folks who had not made prior arrangements, including a security check, were turned away from the Neve Synagogue.

[ZZROX]

We just got back from our cruise that started in Istanbul. We used a Jewish Tour Company. The Jewish Museum is closed at this time. We were able to visit the 2 Shuls. There is very tight security around them. You will not be premitted to visit unless your name is on a list. You must submit a copy of your Passport before you arrive. It is amazing, that in a country that is 99% Muslim, a very small Jewish community still exists.