Tour “Sephardic Jews in Portugal” — Coimbra and Tomar

The history of the cities of Tomar and Coimbra is inextricably linked to the local Jewish communities. I invite you to walk through the former Jewish quarters of these cities and try to hear the ladino, the sound of the shofar and the whispered prayers in the breeze!

In Tomar, the oldest surviving synagogue in Portugal, dating back to the mid-15th century, has been preserved and is now open as the Abraham Zacuto Museum. Abraham Zacuto. Don't know who this man was or when he lived? No problem, I'll tell you! The community of Tomar grew thanks to the protectorate of Prince Henry the Navigator, who was Master of the Order of Christ, which means that he lived often in Tomar, the main residence of this military-religious brotherhood. We will visit him, too, at the Convent of Christ, attached to the Templar fortress!

In the city of Coimbra, unlike the usual tour of this city, we will concentrate our attention not on the university, but on the teachers and students who passed through its amphitheaters, connected with the history of Jews. For example, I will show you the house where the Righteous Among the Nations, Aristides de Sousa Mendes, lived. In the old city, we will try to understand where the synagogue was. I will tell you how, thanks to chance, the mikveh was discovered, as well as what legend is associated with the new name of the main street of the Jewish quarter of Coimbra. Sephardic history was written in the blood of the victims of pogroms and the Inquisition. So let's honor all those martyred in the square in Coimbra, where the autodafes took place, and at the building that once housed the Holy Court of the Church.

Contact us and we will work out the best option for this tour, depending on where you want it to start and end. It can take place either with our transportation or yours.