Duration: | 4 Hour(s) - 0 Minute(s) |
Tour Category: | Half Day Tour |
Jewish Half-Day Tour in Porto
Porto is a lovely city and although it does not have a lot of Jewish Heritage sites and memories it is the home of the earliest Jewish quarter known in Portugal – right in the area of the Cathedral (which we will visit) and Monte dos Olivais. Walking those streets also reminds us of the importance of community living.
We will then continue to visit the Synagogue Kadoorie Mekor Haim, the largest in the Iberian Peninsula. The history of the synagogue is inextricably linked to the history of its founder, Captain Arthur Barros Basto, a Portuguese army officer who converted to Judaism.
In the early twenties of the 19th century, there were at least twenty Ashkenazim Jews in the city; since they did not have a synagogue they had to go to Lisbon, for all religious matters. After realizing the need for a synagogue, Barros Basto started to plan on building a synagogue but first, on his initiative, officially registered in the Civil Government of the local Jewish community in 1923 and named it Comunidade Israelita do Porto (Israelite Community of Porto).
The present synagogue would only begin to be built years later but the community was organized and rented a house on Elias Garcia Street that started to function as a synagogue.