DISCOVER JEWISH A Journey to the Cradle of Western Civilization October 9th — 17th, 2018

Discover Everything Jewish! Welcome to the birthplace of democracy and the cradle of Western civilization, a land of sea and sunshine, a home for artistic wonders and culinary delights. This is Greece!

Discover the breathtaking history of this ancient As your premier organizer for Jewish heritage tours country and its history of Jewish life across centuries. across Europe and beyond, Milk & Honey Tours With 6,000 active members spread across its offers the unique combination of know-how and numerous communities – plus gorgeous synagogues experience to provide you with the trip of a lifetime. and unique Jewish history-related destinations Accompanied by our hand-picked local guide and throughout – there will be no shortage of sights to see by renowned scholar Dr. Rena Molho (a Greek on this Greek adventure. historian on Greek Jewish history and culture) along the way, you too can explore the rise and fall of empires in this home of Jewish life, art, and cultural exchange. Tuesday October 9 – Athens buildings such as the university and the Academy; Arrival in Athens and transfer on own to the hotel the National Guard in front of the Parliament • 7:00 pm: Meet & Greet by scholar and guide, building; and the Panathenaic Stadium, built in short introduction into the program the 6th century BCE and renovated for the 1896 • Welcome Dinner Olympics • Overnight: Athens • 1:30 pm: We will stop for a late lunch in Pláka, a historical Athens neighborhood which is full of shops and restaurants Wednesday October 10 – Athens • We will end the day at the new Acropolis Museum, Athens is a magnificent city steeped in ancient an impressive site with glass floors through which history. There has been a Jewish presence in Greece one can see the remains of ancient houses for over 2,000 years, with evidence of synagogues • Dinner in the capital dating back to the 2nd century BCE. • Overnight: Athens • 9:00 am: We will begin with visiting the Acropolis, where we will visit some of the most historically- significant buildings in the city, most of which date back to the 5th century BCE. Just some of the stops on our tour will be the Parthenon, the Propylaea (formerly the main entrance to the Acropolis and the temple of the “Wingless” Victory), and the Erechtheion. These structures bear witness to the splendor of Athenian democracy at the height of its power. We will also see the Temple of Athena Nike - the earliest fully Ionic temple on the Acropolis • 11:00 am: We will continue an informative and eye-catching overview of Athens. See neoclassical Thursday October 11 – Athens Friday October 12 – Chalkis + Volos • 9:00 am: We will visit two synagogues located Flavius Josephus mentions a Jewish settlement in in the area of Thission. The older of the two, Chalkis in his book Antiquities of the Jews, written the Romaniote Synagogue, was built in 1904. in the first century. Jews played an important Directly across the street we find the Sephardic role in the economic life of the city, trading with both Synagogue. Nearby we will see the Holocaust Ottoman and Venetian merchants. Before the Memorial outbreak of World War II, the Jewish community • 10:30 am: From here we will drive to Syntagma counted about 325 Jews. Today there is a community Square, the central square of the city, followed of about 20 families in Chalkis. by a visit to the Jewish Museum, which con- • 8:00 am: We will begin the day with a drive to tains a collection of more than 8,000 artifacts Chalkis (about 1-1½ hours from Athens) on the dating from ancient times to the present day Island of Euboea th • 1:00 pm: Lunch • We will visit the Romaniote Synagogue and the 16 • 2:30 pm: We will end the day at the National century cemetery, explore the Old Town, and visit Archeological museum - the most important the impressive Archeology Museum • Next, we will explore the city’s Ottoman past by museum of the country visiting Karababa Castle, a fortress built in 1864 • Dinner which offers magnificent views of the city, followed • Overnight: Athens by the Emir Zade • Lunch • Afternoon: transfer to Volos to visit the town’s Saturday October 13 – synagogue, which serves the 100 member-strong Thessaloniki is the second-largest city in Greece community, and to see the Holocaust memorial and the capital of Greek Macedonia. It was the home • Transfer to Thessaloniki of a major Jewish community, mostly of Sephardic • Lecture on the bus: “Salonica as the Center of origin, until the middle of the Second World War. Sephardi Culture” It is the only known example of a city of this size in • Shabbat services and dinner with community TBC the Jewish Diaspora that retained a Jewish majority • Overnight: Thessaloniki for centuries. • 10:30 am: Depart hotel for the Yahudi Hamam and the Modiano Market. The Turkish monuments of Bedesten and the Hamza Bey Mosque are very close by • Lunch • Begin an afternoon tour of the banks of Modiano and Allatini • Visit the Acheiropoietos and Hagia Sophia churches – both UNESCO World Heritage Sites – dating from the 5th and 8th centuries • Visit the Museum of Byzantine Culture, which contains artifacts dating from the 2nd century to the 20th century • Havdalah and dinner • Overnight: Thessaloniki Sunday October 14 – Thessaloniki Monday October 15 – Veria + Vergina • 8:00 am: We will begin with the tour to the Trigoniou The ancient city of Veria, first mentioned in the Tower in the upper part of the city, where we will writings of Thucydides in 432 BCE, shows evidence have a stunning panoramic view of Thessaloniki and that it was populated as early as 1000 BCE. will be provided with some important historical back­ The first evidence of a Jewish community in this city ground. We will also visit the gate of Anna Paleologina can be found in the New Testament, where the • We continue to the old Monastirlis Synagogue and Apostle Paul’s visit to the synagogue of Veria is then to the front of the Ministry of Macedonia and described. Thrace – the old Konak. We continue to St. Demetrios • 9:00 am: Depart hotel Church and the Roman agora where the Rogos • Barbouta , the former Jewish neighborhood of Veria, Jewish neighborhood existed was recently restored. About 50 houses built in the • We will pass by the front of the house of Kemal local Macedonian style are preserved, some of them Attaturk and will visit the Jewish Memorial in the with Hebrew inscriptions. We will not miss a visit to Aristotelian University the town’s beautiful synagogue, constructed in the • Lunch by the port 19th century • We will continue to the villas Casa Bianca and • Lunch Mordoh, and then by foot to Yeni Mosque, the • Before returning to Thessaloniki, we will drive to mosque of the Dönmeh community (“crypto-Jews” see the famous Royal Tombs in Vergina who publicly converted to Islam but adhered to • Dinner Judaism in secret.) • Overnight: Thessaloniki • We will complete our afternoon at the White Tower, a historic monument and adopted symbol of the city • followed by the Baron Hirsch area from which the deportation of Jews took place during World War II • Dinner • Overnight: Thessaloniki Tuesday October 16 – Thessaloniki Wednesday October 25 – Departure • 9:00 am: Morning lecture: “The Holocaust in • End of the program Greece” • Continue on to the Jewish Museum – where we will meet with a Holocaust survivor • Visit the Yad Leyikaron Synagogue • Lunch • Continue on to the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, where we will explore antiquities excavated in Thessaloniki as well as in the broader region of Macedonia • followed by visits to the Rotunda and Gallerius Gate • Dinner • Overnight: Thessaloniki Prices and Conditions Payment and Cancellation conditions

Registration until Payment conditions June 15th, 2018 Reservation deposit: 250 € 50% deposit by June 15th, 2018 Number of Participants Final Payment by July 15th, 2018 Minimum 25, Maximum 30 Terms of cancellation Booking and Information • Reservation deposit is fully refundable until Daria Levenchuk, [email protected] June 14th, 2018. • Between June 14th and July 7th, 2018 you are Price responsible for the reservation fee. 2.400,00 € in DBL, SGL supplement 550 € • From July 8th until August 15th, 2018 you are responsible for 50% of the whole payment. Included • From August 15th, 2018 on you are responsible • 5 star selected hotels for the whole payment. • Lectures as described in the program • M&H Tours Comprehensive touring program, We strongly recommend travel insurance. including entrance fees to sites mentioned in the itinerary We reserve the right to change the itinerary in case • sightseeing including entrance fees to all sights of unforeseeable circumstances. on itinerary, via a deluxe air conditioned motor coach with English speaking guide • M&H expert guide • Transportation by bus according to the program • Meals: All breakfasts, 7 lunches, 8 dinners • Porterage • Water

Not included • Flights • Tips • All personal expenses • Travel Insurance

Booking is possible until July 28th. Minimum of participants is 25. We reserve the right to change the itinerary in case of unforeseeable circumstances.