Jewish Heritage of Monastir, Full day Tour from Skopje to Bitola

Bitola, or also known as Monastir during the Ottoman Empire, was and still is an important town: It was established by Philip II, father of Alexander The Great; It is on the Ancient Roman Road of Via Egnatia; and it was the town where the international community decided to open consulates to the Ottoman Empire. Today, Bitola is a town with a wealth of cultures intertwined in its streets. Likewise, the remnants of a once-thriving Jewish community are scattered throughout the town, and blended in everyday life as a memory. In this tour we learn about the history of the Sephardic Jewish Community in Bitola: how and when it was established; how they lived; and how they disappeared, following the annihilation on 11 March 1943, when Bulgarian fascist soldiers took the whole Jewish population of Bitola, together those of present day North Macedonia to Treblinka, Poland. So join me in experiencing Bitola today while taking a walk into the past and taste what being a local feels like, for a day . . . so dress nicely.

Our plan for this tour is: We meet at your hotel in Skopje; We travel to Bitola by car; We stop along the way to see the synagogue in the Roman City of Stobi; We visit the Bitola Jewish cemetery; We walk to and through the houses of the old Jewish neighbourhood; We visit the Jewish Holocaust monument at Dr Haim Abravanel Hospital, and learn about the one person that got away; We visit the marketplace and have lunch in the Old Bazaar, learning about the place where Jewish people once used to work, and the location where once used to be a synagogue; We see the main square of Bitola, learning about its history; We walk along the so called 'Wide Street' where having a cup of coffee is a local custom, we also have a piece of cake that locals dedicated it to the Jewish people, and see the house of Aroesti; We end the tour by visiting the Park and the pillars of the Jewish Synagogue Kahl Portugal. Changes and customisation to this plan is possible, e. g. : if you are in Bitola, I can come to guide you there.