Heritage Tour company, which runs Jewish heritage tours in Portugal and Morocco was my choice for the next adventure. I contacted them and asked them to create a tour for us in Portugal where we travel independently by car but they provide the itinerary, the hotels and local day guides. I also asked to have at least 2 days in any one location, and stay in interesting hotels (or pousadas) rather than modern hotels. In Morocco, we asked for a guide for the entire trip as well as the stops and hotels.   This post will be about the Portugal trip, and the next post will cover Morocco.

Jews had lived in Portugal for centuries, both under the Moors and the Christians. 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.  

Lisbon: We started in Lisbon, which is a very pleasant city with lots to see and do. The above pictures give a feel for how beautiful and interesting it is. I write about those sites in my post describing my 2024 Rick Steves tour.

However, my fascinating conversation with our tour guide, Mica is worth repeating. I told Mica, that the focus of our trip was Jewish heritage. She 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 and although the memory had died, the cleaning schedule had not. 

Leaving Lisbon, we rented a car and drove into the countryside. Portugal is a wonderful country to visit on your own. The roads are well marked a traffic is light.

Obidos is a walled city which has beautiful buildings that house lots of fun shops. It was magical to see the walls lit up at night and to wake up to the quiet city before the bulk of the tourists arrived. We had tea in the Obidos Palace, which is an inn now. We visited Obidos in 2024 and had other experiences that you can read about in that post.

Tomar is best known for the Templar Knights monastery called the Convent of Christ – pictured 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.

However, our purpose in going to Tomar was to visit its 15^th century synagogue.

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 another 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 walking on the narrow streets.

Final comments: 

1. It was wonderful to see the old synagogues and the medieval towns.
2. I have a better understanding of the Portuguese Inquisition.
3. Having having the extra time to visit out of the way places like Belmont and Castelo de Vide added a great deal to my understanding of the country.