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Poland Jewish Heritage Tours
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Krakow Jewish Culture Festival
June 28 – July 11, 2011
Take an unforgettable discovery tour of Poland’s 1,000-year-old Jewish Heritage and Today’s Cultural Revival.
For one thousand years, Poland was the cradle of Jewish civilization, and the majority of world Jewry can claim its ancestral roots there.
Today, Jewish culture in Poland is experiencing an impressive renaissance, and Poland Jewish Heritage Tours offers you a unique and first class experience with front-row seats to witness and participate in the exciting events that comprise this cultural revival.
Join us as we explore the past, participate in the present and help shape the future.
- Daytime programs will feature comprehensive sightseeing in and around Warsaw and Krakow, plus private VIP meetings with Jewish academics and civic leaders.
- Evening programs are held in conjunction with the Krakow Jewish Culture Festival.
- We will attend Festival performances culminating in the Closing Night Concert on Szeroka square in the former Jewish Quarter of Kazimierz. Every summer, more than 15,000 people gather in Kazimierz’s old market square for a seven-hour, open air concert.
Depart on an overnight flight to Krakow, Poland
Arrive in Krakow
- Greeted by our hosts at the airport, we will embark on a tour through this most picturesque city.
- Transfer to our hotels
Krakow, an enduring legacy:
 Breathtakingly beautiful, Krakow is the only city in Poland to survive World War II without being physically destroyed by Nazi Germany. For 700 years, Krakow was the heart of Jewish culture for the region of Galicia, where the largest concentration of Jewish communities had spread over centuries. Today, the city's Jewish district, called Kazimierz, holds Central Europe's most important array of Jewish historical monuments, including magnificent synagogues, cheders, prayer houses and cemeteries, which had uniquely survived WWII and were renovated after 1989.
Day Tour of Historical Sites of Krakow including:
- Rynek Glowny, Main Market Square – This main square of Krakow's Old Town dates back to the 13th century and is the largest medieval town square in Europe. Surrounded by historical townhouses, palaces and churches, the center of the square is dominated by the cloth hall Sukiennice, which is an enclosed shopping hall where vendors sell crafts and souvenirs.
- Wawel Royal Castle – Overlooking the Vistula river, Wawel served as a royal residence and the site where the country's rulers governed Poland for five centuries from 1038 until 1596. Wawel is considered to be the most beautiful castle in Central Europe.
- Collegium Maius – the oldest part of Jagiellonian University (1364), now the Museum of the Jagiellonian University with its collection of old scientific instruments, including Copernicus' astronomical instruments.
Our hotels are located in the center of Krakow, convenient to everything including the Rynek Glowny and the Kazimierz Jewish District. Older than Prague's Jewish quarter, Kazimierz is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the only Jewish district in Poland to have survived the Holocaust. It is defined by seven renovated synagogues and two Jewish cemeteries, which memorialize the past while also in use today.
Evening:
Jewish Culture Festival Concerts
Auschwitz- Birkenau
Today we pay homage to those who suffered and perished in Auschwitz-Birkenau, the notorious Nazi Concentration and death camps established by Germans in 1940.
In 1942-1944, as part of the "final solution of the Jewish question" (Endlosung der Judenfrage), Auschwitz served as the largest Nazi center for the destruction of the Jewish population of the European countries occupied by and allied to the Third Reich.
Our visit will help us to understand the extent of the horror and terror and to appreciate the miracle that anyone survived. Auschwitz-Birkenau has been described by Elie Wiesel as that which "arouses man's most secret anguish."
Here we will participate in a Shacharit and memorial service for all who perished at Auschwitz-Birkenau.
* Optional day tour offerings will be provided for those who do not wish to tour Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Evening:
Jewish Culture Festival Concerts
Today we will explore Krakow's enduring Jewish heritage sites. Our tour will include visits to:
- The Kazimierz Jewish District - Krakow's Jewish community, which dates back to the 14th century, was transferred from the heart of Krakow's Old Town by King Jan I Olbracht following a fire in 1495. Jews were relocated to Kazimierz and this became the main Jewish neighborhood (kehilla) in the region and one of the largest Jewish communities in Poland.
- Tempel Synagogue of Krakow - Built in 1862 and beautifully renovated, this Moorish style Reform synagogue, the largest synagogue in Krakow and used during the High Holidays and for special events such as Jewish Culture Festival concerts.
- Stary (Old) Synagogue - A Gothic structure built early in the 15th century, this is the oldest synagogue in Krakow and the oldest synagogue still in use north of the Alps.
- The Old Jewish Cemetery is where some of the most famous Kabbalist rabbis of Poland were buried.
"Under the Eagle" Pharmacy - During WWII, many Christian Poles, such as Dr. Tadeusz Pankiewicz, helped Jews by providing food and medicine through this pharmacy located in the Krakow ghetto. The ghetto was liquidated in 1943 and the remaining Jews were transported to the Plaszow and Auschwitz camps.
- Schindler's Factory and Plaszow - the site of the former Nazi concentration camp enamelware center, where Oskar Schindler saved almost 1200 Jews, Schindlerjuden ("Schindler's Jews"), by employing them in his factories in Krakow and the Czechoslovakia.
Evening:
Kabbalat Shabbat Dinner in the old Jewish Quarter of Kazimierz
Morning: (Optional)
Join a Shabbat Morning Service at the historic 16th century Remuh Synagogue (Orthodox service), or the 19th century Moorish Tempel Synagogue (Reform service).
Throughout the Day:
- Galicia Jewish Museum - The contemporary Galicia Jewish Museum shows exhibits that celebrate the Jewish culture of Polish Galicia and commemorate the Holocaust in Galicia, presenting Jewish history from a new perspective.
Private docent led tours available for our group.
- Jewish Community Center - Commissioned and financed by Prince Charles of Wales and built by the UK's World Jewish Relief Agency, the JCC opened its doors in 2008 and has quickly become the vibrant center of emerging Jewish life in Krakow, offering diverse programs and activities for all ages.
Private docent led tours available for our group.
- Free time to enjoy Festival Offerings including ongoing art and photo exhibitions, book displays, speakers, and discussions.
- Free time to enjoy tourist activities on or around the Rynek Glowny, from shopping and sightseeing to people-watching from one of the outdoor cafes flanking the square.
Evening:
Dinner in Kazimierz, followed by the Grand Finale-Closing Night Open Air Concert on Szeroka Square, Kazimierz!!! Begins at 6 pm and continues past midnight.
Wieliczka Salt Mine - This UNESCO World Heritage Site is considered one of the most fascinating places to visit. An active mine for over 600 years from the 13th century until 2007. We will find inside the mine chambers, chapels, and halls created by miners filled with art literally carved out of salt!
Evening: A Cocktail Farewell Gala - mingle and share your thoughts...
Transfer to the Krakow airport to catch our flight to Tel Aviv.
Upon arrival in Israel we will meet our guide and driver and transfer to our Mediterranean water front hotel in Tel Aviv.
Tel Aviv
After breakfast, check out our hotel. Drive to the Diaspora museum and then continue to the multimedia Palmach museum. Drive by the Tel Aviv university campus. Visit the old renovated neighborhoods of Tel Aviv: Neve Tzedek, Florentine. Continue to Jaffa and its famous artist colony.
Overnight in Tel Aviv
Tiberias
After breakfast we check out from our hotel in Tel Aviv and start our way to the North. We will visit Ceasaria & Beit Shean two of the most  beautiful preserved Roman Cities. Continue to visit Gesher, a beautiful and interesting tourist attraction on the bank of the Jordan River. In April 1948, this was the first settlement to withstand an attack by the Arab Legion. In May of that year – it was also the focal point of an Iraqi attack. On site, three old bridges are visible, as well as an old British police station, historic railway tracks, and an old Khan (inn) from the Middle Ages.
From here continue to visit Katzrin, built around the site of a Jewish agricultural village of the Mishnaic period. The archaeological remnants, which include a notable ancient synagogue, are displayed as the Katzrin Ancient Village. The ancient village was destroyed in the Golan earthquake of 749. We will visit the Golan Heights winery and a drive around the Sea of Galilee, we will arrive in our hotel late in the evening.
Over night in the Galilee
Safed - Upper Galilee - Golan
Proceed via the Hula Valley to the picturesque city of Rosh Pina, continue to Safed, the center of Jewish mysticism and the great Kabbalists, to visit the ancient synagogue and  the artists' colony. Continue driving north to the Golan Heights. Visit the former Syrian fortifications, the Druze villages, and Banias, the source of the Jordan River. Continue toMt. Bental and visit the former Syraian bunkers at Kunetra, then back to our hotel.
Jerusalem - Old City
We will be driving along the Jordan River down south to Jerusalem. We will enter the Old City via Mt. Zion, where we will visit King David's Tomb. Continue walking and enter the Jewish quarter: walk the Cardo, visit the Herodian Mansions and the Temple Institute. Our steps will lead us to the Western Wall – the Kotel and the Jewish quarter.
Tonight Kabbalat Shabbat at the Kotel followed by a Shabbat Dinner at the hotel.
Shabbat - free day in Jerusalem, or optional tour to the Dead Sea & Massada.
We leave our hotel and start our tour to the Dead Sea and Massada. Ascend by cable car to the fortress, which was the last stronghold of the Jewish Zealots in their war against the Romans. Visit the excavations, Herod's palaces, the synagogue, and bathhouse. Enjoy the breathtaking view of the Roman camps and the Dead Sea. Experience an "unsinkable swim" in the salty water of the Dead Sea. Visit the natural reserve of Ein Gedi & Qumran, where the Dead Sea scrolls were found.
Overnight in Jerusalem.
Jerusalem
 We will start our tour with a visit to Yad Vashem, Israel's memorial to the six million Jews who were killed in the Holocaust. Visit Davidson Center with the multimedia movie about the construction of the Temple. Then take an underground tour in the Wall tunnels. The exit will lead us into the Via Dolorosa, we will walk into the colorful bazaars and reach the Jaffa gate. Drive to visit City of David, where we will walk the Hezekiah's tunnels, see the movie of Jerusalem's times.
Overnight in Jerusalem.
Depart: Early morning flight back home…
$2995 land portion only. Based on double occupancy, single supplement (private room) add $895
Radisson Blu hotel, Krakow (or similar)
Dan Panorama Hotel, Tel Aviv (or similar)
Kibbutz Lavi, Galilee (or similar) When Kibbutz hotel is used, dinner will be included.
Dan Panorama, Jerusalem (or similar)
The itinerary is a suggested guideline to tour leaders and groups, and can be modified by the tour director or group tour leader. Minimum of 15 participants are required for the tour.
Hotel upgrades available upon request.
Included:
- Meet & assistance at the airport by tour company
- Roundtrip guide escorted airport transfers
- 5 nights in Krakow w/Buffet breakfast daily
- 7 nights in Israel w/Buffet Breakfast daily
- Dinners as per itinerary
- All entrance fees to sites and events, talks and presentations unless specified as optional.
- All transfers to hotels and tours
- Modern Deluxe AC coach
- English speaking guides
Not included:
- Airfare
- Personal expenses
- Tips & drinks with meals
- Travel Insurance (which we strongly advise. Special rates for this as well.)
- No visa required only a valid passport for at least 6 months beyond date of arrival.
Hotels are subject to change but will be same class category or higher
All costs are based on rate of exchange and are subject to currency fluctuations.
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Poland Jewish Heritage Tours
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Weather in Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport, Poland
