Private Guided Tour of Istanbul Jewish Heritage

Start your private Istanbul's Jewish Heritage tour by being collected from your centrally located hotel in Istanbul. Board your vehicle and cruise to the old Jewish neighbourhood of Galata, learn how the fourth crusade captured and demolished the area in the year 1203.

Admire the elegance of the Galata Tower. Hear how this famous Istanbul monument and vantage point was constructed in the 14th century as part of the colonial expansion into Constantinople by the Genoese.

Next, walk over to the Ashkenaz Synagogue, today the only active synagogue of its kind in Istanbul.

Get to know everything about the Austrian Jews who established it in 1900 for the Ashkenazi Jewish sect. Today the synagogue still celebrates bar mitzvahs, weddings, other religious ceremonies and is available to visitors and those who wish to pray.

With your expert guide continue through the Beyoğlu neighbourhood to the Jewish Museum of Turkey formerly known as the Zülfaris Synagogue.

Discover how this 19th-century religious building was renovated and rebuilt as a museum in 2001. This was to honour the 500th anniversary of Sephardic Jews coming to the Ottoman Empire.

See how Jewish culture and tradition blended with Turkish history in the Museum.

Plus, learn how Muslims and Jews lived with one another, see a display that explains the successful Jewish quest from Spain to Turkey.

Finally, visit Etz Ahayim Synagogue also referred to as the Ortaköy Synagogue. Located in the Beşiktaş district in the neighbourhood of Ortaköy, gain an insight into how various ethnicities and religions such as Greeks, Turks, Armenians, and Jews were all able to live together in harmony during the rule of the Ottoman Empire.

Even in the present day, this neighbourhood is a perfect example of how colours and creeds can live in peace.

Leave Ortaköy with new knowledge of Jewish history in Turkey and head back to your hotel where your tour concludes.