A week in Athens!

Spoiler alert: It’s good to take some time off once in a while. But you knew that already, didn’t you? So, for all of you who have never been to Athens, and even those who have been, let’s roll with what we will call “The best of Athens March 11-14th 2024!”

Best surprise about Athens: Athens is a fairly big city of 5 million residents. What we did not realize was just how geographically pretty and varied it is. Most people suspect it’s near water, as a Mediterranean city and it’s proximity to the Aegean sea is pretty obvious. However, it’s also surrounded by mountains. We were told that Greece has more mountains than any other European country than Switzerland. Now, if you compare the height of the typical mountain in the Alps to Greek mountains, there is a clear winner in central Europe. I would say that most of the Greek mountains we saw were more like Mount Royal than Mount Everest or even Mount Lucerne or Grindelwald. It does mean that the hill that the Acropolis is on is just one of several ringing the city.

Best place to stay in Athens: Athens has a lot of very cool districts; Plaka, Monastiraki, etc. It’s quite hard to choose if you don’t know the city. We purchased a package tour (flight and hotel together) and chose to stay at one of the nicer hotels on the list, the Electra Metropolis. This was a winner for sure. First, the hotel was really nice, it came with breakfast on a 10th floor rooftop restaurant, and the service was terrific. Moreover, the hotel is in the Monastiraki district, one block off Eramus (or Hermes) street, the commerce pedestrian mall in Athens and near two squares. It was a 12-minute walk to the Acropolis, a similar distance to the Acropolis Museum, and, for those of us who keep kosher, a 10-minute walk to Chabad and the Gostijo kosher restaurant. The neighborhood was very touristy but very safe and a great place to wander around! There was even a nightly Carnaval Bus at Monastiraki square piping in music and  getting people dancing!

Best Tour of Jewish Athens: OK, in all honesty, I am not sure how many tours of Jewish Athens there are. Thanks to Rivka and Alex Guttman, we were given the name of Haim and Daniel, a father and son duo who do a very in-depth tour of the history of the Jewish community of Greece and an in-depth tour of Athens. The unique angle that this family has is that they trace their roots to the Romaniote Jews from pre-CE times. In fact, the first Jewish communities in Greece were from the 3rd century BCE (around the time of Alexander the Great), when Jews were brought as slaves. After democracy in Athens started to emancipate foreign slaves, Jews moved across the country and inhabited Islands such as Chaikida and Ioannina (two places where Haim and Daniel’s families originated).  The Romaniote community was established in the time prior to the Babylonian Talmud and so they have their own customs (some based on the Jerusalem Talmud) and style of synagogue that I had only previously seen in the Italian Synagogue in Jerusalem (which may explain their being called Romaniote Jews). The Athens community now has about 2500 Jews, with three synagogues, Beth Shalom, the Sephardi synagogue, Eitz Chayim, the Romaniote Synagogue which is only open on the high holydays and for special events, and the Chabad House which has been in Athens for about 25 years. The larger, well-known community of Salonika (Thessaloniki) was comprised mainly of Sephardi Jews and was probably established post Spanish inquisition in the 15th century. This community was close to 100,000 at its heyday in the early 20th century and was greatly victimized by the Nazi invasion with most of its members deported to Treblinka in 1943. The Greek Jewish community had the support of the Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Church, who tried to lobby on their behalf. There were other communities saved from the holocaust, such as Zakynthos, also saved due to the intervention of the local Greek Orthodox Clergy. However, in the end, 88% of Greek Jewry perished, destroying centuries of vibrant Jewish life in Greece. 

Our tour was led by Daniel who took us around the center of Athens, pointing out the parliament, the Changing of the Guard, Dionysius Stadium, and other famous landmarks. We spent a few hours at the Jewish Museum of Athens, then to the two synagogues (Beth Shalom and Eitz Chayim) and the Jewish Community Council housed in the same building as Eitz Chayim, as well as the Holocaust memorial at the end of the same block, with its fragmented Magen David with the names of the communities that were destroyed. Then we wandered through the Agora, the ancient Marketplace of Athens and back to the hotel. Daniel was terrific, super knowledgeable and very passionate about what he was speaking about, particularly about Romaniote traditions. Highly recommended!

Best Kosher Restaurant: OK, OK, only Kosher Restaurant! The Chabad House on Esopou St in the Psirri district houses the Gostigo (meaning gift of food) restaurant. Each night we were there it was full and seems to serve the tourist clientele very well. Good menu, reasonable prices, and a good selection. They even have a grocery store attached. Supposedly, a typical Shabbat has 100-150 people! Athens is a city of restaurants, with tons of outdoor seating; there are cafes everywhere you walk. The kosher restaurant does not have outdoor seating (probably for security reasons) but at least you have a very decent place to go for kosher food. 

Best History Lesson: Athens, like Jerusalem, is one big history lesson. The Parthenon gazes down on the whole city from its perch on the grounds of the Acropolis. The stadium of Dionysus is still in its location. Even under our hotel there is an excavation going on showing areas that were inhabited hundreds, even thousands of years ago. The Acropolis Museum provides a detailed guide to the life and times from the 700’s BCE, through the mythology of Greek Gods including Athena, daughter of Zeus and the Goddess of Athens. There are artifacts covering 2500+ years of civilization, including the rise of Democracy, the wars with Sparta, conquering by the Persians, then Barbarians, then Romans (200 BCE to 1200), then the Ottoman empire (almost 600 years), the wars of independence, the first and second World Wars….boy it sounds a lot like Jewish history! I guess this is why Greeks and Jews appear to have a kinship as we have a lot in common; strong families, good food and a wish to maintain our independence since we have a tremendous history to be proud of!

Shabbat in Jerusalem: So as mentioned last week, we did something unusual; we spent Shabbat by ourselves! We had a lovely time at the Dan Panorama Hotel which is very central and an easy walk to most central districts in Jerusalem. Shabbat was nice, with a highlight being a visit from Bilha Fruchter and her daughter Adi. Saturday night we wandered in the central area of the city near the Mamilla mall, and like many things during this wartime, the streets were very quiet, and few people were out in this neighborhood. We went to a restaurant named Gabriella, which opened around 14 years ago, which was a big draw at the time. Now it’s kind of run down and was looking pretty shabby. Sunday was a good day for walking, and we went to the area near Mea Shearim (the ultra orthodox section of Jerusalem) to visit Mr. Joseph Levkovich, a former Montrealer, Holocaust Survivor, educator and of course father and father-in-law of Ziggy and Rivi. Some of you may recall that he was on our summer trip to Poland where her shared what he lived through in the places where it actually occurred. He’s 97, extremely sharp and still travelling to Poland and speaking in many places in Israel. He complained he’s slowed down, but I think the pace he goes at would tire someone 50 years younger! Sunday night, we visited the Machanei Yehuda Market area. It was much busier and upbeat compared to the area we had visited the night before. We had dinner at Jocko St. which we had learned about through a program at TBDJ when the chefs visited. Great food and atmosphere!

Singing in Harmony: We will leave you with one last thought. Most Israeli hotels that are in the area frequented by Jewish tourists have synagogues on the premises, and the congregation is made up of whoever chooses to attend. Last week at the hotel, I joined this spontaneous congregation for the services on Friday night and Saturday. This was a really special experience; about 75-100 men and women, from Israel and abroad, Ashkenazi, Sephardi, white, black and brown, all different backgrounds and customs. Yet, when the services started and familiar melodies were sung, everyone participated. Literally a room of strangers blended together almost seamlessly. You don’t have to be a particularly religious or even spiritual person to be impressed by the fact that people can find commonality so well and so quickly. I think this speaks volumes about what our potential is. If we wish to have harmony, we must reach out and find the right notes. 

Wishing you a harmonious Shabbat Shalom!

 Barbara and Bruce

Refuah Shlema to Shmuel Zev ben Rachel Ita

Refuah Shelma to Chaim Tzvi ben Shaindel

Mazel tov to Orly and El on the celebration of the brit mila of Liam Abraham!

Happy Birthday to Sandy, better known as Auntie Ruffie! Wishes for good health and lots of love!