In fall, 2007 I decided to visit Portugal and Morocco, because (1) I had never been to either country (2) they are close to each other and (3) both countries have a rich Jewish cultural history that I wanted to learn about.  I chose Heritage Tours, a company that specializes in cultural tours and creates customized itineraries for independent travelers. We told them that we wanted to travel on our own in Portugal with local day guides, have at least 2 days in any one location, and stay in interesting hotels (or pousadas) rather than modern hotels. On the other hand, in Morocco, we wanted a guide for the entire trip.  The focus in both countries would be Jewish heritage.  They created the trip to meet our specifications.

Jews had lived in Portugal for centuries, both during the Moorish period as well as after the Christian conquest.  At times they enjoyed high status and privileges, but the political climate began to deteriorate in the 15^th century culminating in the inquisition.  Jews, who remained in Portugal, were forced to convert.  Some of those lived as secret Jews, or Marranos.  Jews had also been in Morocco for centuries.  Many arrived with the Roman conquests of Northern Africa.  Some Berber tribes had converted to Judaism and intermingled with the Hebrews.  But the largest influx came during the Spanish and Portuguese inquisition.  Recently, most of the Jews in Morocco have immigrated to Israel.

Portugal: 

Upon arrival, we spent a few days in Lisbon and saw the principal sites, which I will not describe since they are well known and are not the focus of this post. But while in Lisbon, I had a fascinating conversation with our tour guide, Mica. As I said, the focus of the trip was Jewish heritage. I shared this with Mica, who then told me that her grandmother always cleaned the house and changed the sheets on Friday.  When the grandmother was asked why Friday, she said that it has always been done that way.  Our guide thought that perhaps her family had been Marrano Jews originally. 

We also spent a couple of nights in Obidos, a walled city with lots of fun shops. Obidos was magical at night when the bulk of the tourists on tours had left and we had the place to ourselves.

One of our stops was Tomar, which has a 15^th century synagogue.  After the inquisition, the synagogue was closed and turned into a prison.  Today it is a Jewish Museum run by a family, who are re-discovering their roots and are learning Hebrew.  The sign below was on the wall of the old synagogue

Of-course, we also toured Tomar’s main attraction, the Convent of Christ; the beautiful Templar Knights Monastery. (Below)

Many of the monastery’s walls were covered with beautiful blue and white glazed tiles and limestone carvings, that surround the windows and tell a story. 

At one time there were some 200 monks in the complex. They grew their own food and were self-sufficient.  The monks were kicked out by the king in 1834 because he wanted it for himself.  It was not destroyed but has been unoccupied for 150 years.

Belmonte, a town in the hills of Portugal, has an interesting history.  Probably because of its isolated location, the Jews living there were left pretty much to themselves during the Inquisition.  But because they feared the inquisitors, they changed many of their worship customs.  For instance, instead of putting a Mezuza (a prayer) on their doorposts, they held them in their pockets.  Also, they had the women do the praying and celebrated the holidays a few days off the actual holiday.  It is only recently that they have come out of the closet and have admitted to being Jews.  

Castelo de Vide is a beautiful walled town with a castle on the hill and a tiny 13^th century synagogue.  This is not a tourist destination, therefore, walking in the walled city felt more real than in more frequented walled cities.  Here I could really imagine myself back in the 13^th century.

Morocco:

In Morocco my focus, again, was Jewish heritage.  Since we had 18 days we did not limit ourselves to just the main tourist sites: the Rabat, Fez, Marrakesh route and we could take our time in each place.

For instance, driving between Rabat and Fez we stopped at Volubilis, an ancient Roman town with amazing mosaics on the floors.  My favorite mosaics were: the god Jupiter, a four seasons mosaic and one with an acrobat doing his tricks. 15,000 people lived here, including Jews, in Roman times,(2,200 years ago). It was a fascinating place that is usually skipped by those with limited time

Next to Volubilis is the town of Meknes.  At one point, 27,000 Jews had lived in this city – now there are just 50 families left.  

I asked how the Jews fared during WWII, since Morocco was under Hitler’s control some of the time – at least under Vichy France.  The caretakers said that the Jews were fine because the King of Morocco would not give up the Jews to the Nazis.  He said everyone in the country is Moroccan.

Our next stop, Fez was amazing. 

  I thoroughly enjoyed the beauty of the Riad but I had two unpleasant experiences there. The first night I was tired and only wanted soup, and the guide explained this to the owner.  Nevertheless, she tried to charge me for a full meal.  The guide straightened her out.  Also, the nightlight we carried went missing, but they returned it, saying it was in the garbage, right!! It really helped to have my guide.

The obvious attraction in Fez is the 9^th century Medina (old city). It is a real labyrinth with so many wonderful things to see. I don’t think I could have found my way out without the guide. It is meant to be confusing, because it was built by the son of a king who had been murdered by enemies. The son, now the new king lived in the Medina, and built the suq so that if anyone tried to kill him, the murderer would never get out alive – he would be found. It is still fully lived in – it is not just a tourist place. 

The streets are too narrow for cars so there are donkeys and carts doing the deliveries. Every once in a while I had to step aside to make room for a donkey or mule. There are lots of shops and interesting food displays.

One square in the Medina had huge cooking pots on the ground. The locals rent these pots when they have lots of company. What a great idea. Then they bring them back to be cleaned.

In addition to the 9^th C Medina, there is a newer 15^th C Medina which had the Mellah, or the Jewish quarter. Jews came to Morocco in large numbers when they were expelled from Spain and Portugal during the inquisition.  The Jewish quarter is called Mellah because the Jews originally dealt with salt (Mellah), which was then very expensive. The houses here had balconies, and are reminiscent of the houses the Jews had in Spain. They built their houses next to the King’s palace to have his protection.

I visited the 17th C Aben Danun Synagogue. We also saw the cemetery dating back from the 16^th century. I was surprised to see the large monuments, each with an opening for burning candles.

Since we had three full days in Fez, we had time to take a side trip to Bahalil to see the houses built in the caves into the mountains.  Our guide made arrangements for us to visit one of the houses.  It was a one-room cave with a small extension out of the mountain for the kitchen.  Our hostess invited us to drink tea with her and through our guide told her a bit about her life.  She is a widow, living with a grown- up daughter.  They make buttons from silk threads to sell.  She insisted I take a couple of buttons home with me.  They do have electricity and water.  The inhabitants of Bahalil are Berber, many of whom are descended from the Romans and therefore have blue eyes and light brown hair.  Again, being on a solo trip with a guide allowed us to dig deeper into the culture.

Erfoud: We headed south east to the mountains and desert terrain of Erfoud. The next morning at 4:45am we began our wonderful expedition. 

  

From Erfoud we went west toward the Atlantic.  We stayed at the Kasbah Ben Morah, which is a real Kasbah (fortified house), from the 17th century, beautifully restored. The Kasbah has a lovely veranda for the guests to sit and watch the evening come.

We had dinner at the Kasbah Ben Morah and since it has only a few rooms, it has a small dining room with only one menu.  As soon one table ordered; the menu was given to the next table. The menu was limited but the food was delicious.

Our next Jewish heritage stop was the town of Arazan near Taroundant, to see a tiny adobe 14^th century synagogue.  

Our guide had not been there for a long time, and he was not exactly sure how to get there.  We stopped at a gas station to ask for directions and a man on a bicycle offered to show us the way.  We snaked through the tiny streets of this hamlet following the biker and then came to the synagogue.  It is only about 14 by 20 feet.  It still had a beautiful wooden Berber arc and Hebrew words written on the wall.  

 Obviously we were the only tourists.   

We continued east, to the Atlantic coast town of the old Portuguese port of Essaouira.  This is an old walled city and the city within the walls is called the Medina.  No cars are allowed inside this Medina, and since Riad Watier (my hotel) was inside the Medina, we had to walk to it from the parking lot outside the walls, with our bags on a cart. 

I had an unexpected adventure in Essaouira.  As part of the Jewish Heritage tour, I was scheduled to go to the grave and house of the Rabbi Chaim Pinto (1748-1845), who had been revered as a wise man in both Morocco and Israel. Not being religious, I did not know anything about this man, but I love history therefore, I was happy to learn about this part of Moroccan Jewish history.  

The Pinto house was locked, but a neighbor called the caretaker who said she would meet us at the cemetery. In the meantime, the neighbor took us to the old school where the Jewish children had studied and lived.  The house is crumbling because it has been standing empty since 1960 when most Jews left.  Squatters had moved in and they were happy to show us the students’ entrance cards and the books in the cabinets.  It is as if the school just closed for the day instead of for 50 years.  The squatters actually take good care of the artifacts because when tour groups come through, they receive tips.

Our last stop was Marrakech. There is much to see and do in this city, including a huge Suq, which is much easier to navigate than the one in Fez.  We even managed it on our own when our guide left us on our last day.  It was especially lively in the evening with lots of open air restaurants in the area surrounding the Suq.  

 I was dying to purchase one that I saw in the Suq but it was $3,000.  The memory will have to do.

Final comments: 

1. This was a particularly meaningful trip.  I now understand so much more about the life of medieval Jews and their journey from Portugal to Morocco.
2. Having a dedicated guide in Morocco to smooth out, otherwise frustrating situations, such as being overcharged, was wonderful.
3. Again, having the extra time to visit out of the way places like Bahalil, and Arazan added a great deal to my understanding of the country.
4. Private visits to homes is another bonus of using an excellent tour company and having excellent guides.
5. Although Morocco and Portugal are close, the only flights between the two countries, is through Spain. I could not find direct flights. So much for choosing close destinations