The main attraction of Cordoba was our ability to spend Shabbat there. Spanish Jewry has all essentially disappeared since the inquisition. We had Friday night and Saturday morning services in a historical Sephardic home (it is now a tourist site) and we were the first group of any sort of Jews to hold a service there, and in all of Cordoba in hundreds, literally hundreds of years. Coincidentally there was a touring group of secular Israeli teens in Cordoba and they joined us for services on Friday night. On Saturday morning we read from a Torah that had been donated by the father of a man we had met and had services with in Morocco.
Spending Shabbat there was wonderful, it was peaceful and it was incredible to know that we were the first ones doing it in a very long time. There were several people on our program who had Aliyahs (the act of being called to a Torah, which usually happens on one's bat/bar mitzvah) for the first time. One girl had had a Bat Torah (celebration at the time of one's bat mitzvah without being called to the Torah). There was one girl (the one student from Mexico) who had had no celebration at Bat-Mitzvah age. She had an aliyah and read from the Torah, so she essentially had a bat- mitzvah in Spain. This was not only historical for her, but this was the first time possibly ever that a girl had had a bat-mitzvah in Cordoba let alone all of Spain.
After Havdalah we took a two hour bullet train to Madrid. The next morning we met with the Israeli ambassador to Spain. He was quite engaging. He's been a diplomat for several decades and has also been the ambassador to other countries including Chile. Then we spent a couple hours at the Prado then we flew home. The Prado was absolutely incredible, the time we were given was not nearly enough to see all of much of it. We had a guided tour and they focused mainly on the Spanish painters, Diego, Velasquez and Greco, the painting were unbelievable but there was so much else there that we didn't get a chance to see.
All in all Spain was absolutely amazing. It's somewhere I definitely want to return to and spend more time. But by far it was the best trip yet.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Bienvendios a Espana!
Spain was absolutely incredible. By far my favorite country we've been to yet. I understood the language, the culture was comfortable and the food was great. In addition the feelings of the group and the things we saw were unbelievable.
Our trip started in Toledo. We stayed in a gorgeous hotel right outside of the old city. The first full day we had a tour of the old city. We went to this incredible church that was absolutely gorgeous in it's over the top showiness. We also went to an old synagogue that has since been turned into a historical site. It is Kivunim's custom to sing when we are in synagogues around the world but when we were here we had to get permission from the people working there. They were worried of extra attention being drawn to us if we were singing Jewish songs. In the end we were able to sing though.
The Outside of the Church
The rest of the time in Toledo was spent on our own, exploring and eating at some of the local restaurants. The major food theme of my trip to Spain was seafood. Seafood paella, squid...etc. There was also ham and pork everywhere but I stayed away from that....although most of our program tried it, even though they normally keep kosher (among other things; no pig products).
From Toledo we went to Grenada, with a stop along the way in Jaen (pronounced Chai-en). In Jaen there is a large initiative on the part of the government to restore the historical Jewish sites around the city. There are old Jewish homes that are being restored, and the old Jewish quarter is being brought to people's attention.
In Grenada the main attraction was the Alhambra mosque. It is arguably one of the most impressive examples of architectural supremacy ever. It was built in the 13th and 14th centuries when Islam ruled Spain. Every single piece of the mosque is created with enormous detail and care. There are several palaces, gardens, and many many buildings all within the Alhambra complex. Overall it was absolutely unbelievable.
From Grenada we moved on to Cordoba. Along the way we stopped in Seville to visit the foundation of three cultures. It is an initiative between the Spanish and Moroccan governments to establish a coexistence organization in Spain. It includes Islam, Christianity and Judaism, although the foundation prefers to refer to them as cultures as opposed to religions. This is in part due to the stigma that the word religion carries and additionally their belief that these three different groups are more of a culture than a religion.
Also in Seville I saw crew! We drove along a river and there were several singles rowing down it. It was wonderful!
Then on to Cordoba. Here we stayed within the walls of the old city. We toured La Mesquita, which used to be a mosque but in the 16th century (I believe) it was converted to a Church. It has been used a mosque twice since it has changed over. This church was also incredible. Huge with grandiose decorations although it was not quite as over the top as the Cathedral in Toledo, I think because it was originally a mosque. Mosques in general are just as intricate and thoughtful as churches, just without all the paintings and art because Islam forbids imagery of Muhammad and frowns upon imagery of other figures.
Our trip started in Toledo. We stayed in a gorgeous hotel right outside of the old city. The first full day we had a tour of the old city. We went to this incredible church that was absolutely gorgeous in it's over the top showiness. We also went to an old synagogue that has since been turned into a historical site. It is Kivunim's custom to sing when we are in synagogues around the world but when we were here we had to get permission from the people working there. They were worried of extra attention being drawn to us if we were singing Jewish songs. In the end we were able to sing though.
A couple views from around Toldeo
The Outside of the Church
From Toledo we went to Grenada, with a stop along the way in Jaen (pronounced Chai-en). In Jaen there is a large initiative on the part of the government to restore the historical Jewish sites around the city. There are old Jewish homes that are being restored, and the old Jewish quarter is being brought to people's attention.
Jaen
In Grenada the main attraction was the Alhambra mosque. It is arguably one of the most impressive examples of architectural supremacy ever. It was built in the 13th and 14th centuries when Islam ruled Spain. Every single piece of the mosque is created with enormous detail and care. There are several palaces, gardens, and many many buildings all within the Alhambra complex. Overall it was absolutely unbelievable.The Alhambra
From Grenada we moved on to Cordoba. Along the way we stopped in Seville to visit the foundation of three cultures. It is an initiative between the Spanish and Moroccan governments to establish a coexistence organization in Spain. It includes Islam, Christianity and Judaism, although the foundation prefers to refer to them as cultures as opposed to religions. This is in part due to the stigma that the word religion carries and additionally their belief that these three different groups are more of a culture than a religion.
Foundation of Three Cultures
Also in Seville I saw crew! We drove along a river and there were several singles rowing down it. It was wonderful!Then on to Cordoba. Here we stayed within the walls of the old city. We toured La Mesquita, which used to be a mosque but in the 16th century (I believe) it was converted to a Church. It has been used a mosque twice since it has changed over. This church was also incredible. Huge with grandiose decorations although it was not quite as over the top as the Cathedral in Toledo, I think because it was originally a mosque. Mosques in general are just as intricate and thoughtful as churches, just without all the paintings and art because Islam forbids imagery of Muhammad and frowns upon imagery of other figures.
Cathedral in Toledo
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