The Jewish Heritage

As soon as you arrive at Mumbai airport, our representative will welcome you before you are transferred to your hotel.Our itinerary will begin soon afterwards, with a visit to a synagogue and other sites related to the local Jewish community. Afterwards, we will see the colossal Dhobi Ghat, Mumbai’s outdoor hand laundry, and enjoy a drive along the Marine Drive. Visit the Gateway of India, a monument built during the years of the British Raj, and Flora Fountain, at the Hutatma Chowk (Martyr’s Square), which is an ornamentally and exquisitely sculpted architectural monument.
Overnight at hotel in Mumbai

• Mumbai  Synagogue – (Kenesset Eliyahu), established in 1884 by Mr. Jacob Sasson, in memory of his father.
  Visit Shaar Hashamaim synagogue, established in 1879 and meet the leaders of this unique community – Rabbi Binyamin and Mr. Ezra Moses – for an extremely rare insight into Jewish life in India.

In the morning, you will take a flight from Mumbai airport to Cochin. At Cochin airport, our representative will assist you with traveling to Chennamangalam. There, you will visit the ancient Chennamangalam Synagogue and Jewish cemetery. Later, you will drive to Kumarakom, where you will check into your hotel.

• Kumarakom: The enchanted Peninsula, that invades the waters of the always lively Vembanad lake, takes us to the heart of the magnificent views of the lake. Here we meet a variety of traditional rural arts, canoes. In the evening we can enjoy a relaxed cruise towards the setting sun.

 

After breakfast, we will sail in small canoes along the canals surrounding the area’s small and remote villages, through the tropical countryside and enchanting backwaters of Alleppey, for which Kerala is very famous. As we sail, we will enjoy the palm-fringed, narrow canals that wind through a vast expanse of paddy fields. The neat, tiny hamlets lined up along either side of the canals add to a panoramic view that you will never forget

• BackwatersA large part of Kerala’s considerable charm lies in the backwaters, a network of canals that lead off Lake Vembanad. Whether you spend time in one of the palm-shaded hotels or drift along in a rice boat, it is difficult not to be captivated by the local way of life. Seeing children travelling to school in a narrow canoe, local ladies washing the pots at the side of the canal and fishermen netting their daily meal in the shallows, you realise how integral this network is to the life of the region. Villages, temples and churches are built along the banks and the area is also a haven for wildlife with wading birds, kingfishers and fish eagles.

After breakfast, we will drive back to Cochin, where we will visit the Jewish market and Judaica stores owned by local Jewish women.

At 13:00, when the official visiting hours of the synagogue end, we will receive a special guided tour from the synagogue’s janitor. Look at and touch the beautiful Torah crown that was a gift to the community 206 years ago from the king, as well as the ancient copper plates that were “a charter” for the first Jews who arrived in Cochin 1100 years ago.
After leaving the synagogue, we will visit the tomb of Rabbi Nehemiah Mota – a Kabbalistic Sage who came to India from Yemen 390 years ago. Later, we will tour the famous spice market of Cochin, walk along the beach, and see how the fishermen repair the Chinese nets that they still use in their profession.

In the evening, enjoy watching a live Kathakali dance show.

Overnight at hotel in Cochin

• Synagogue “Pardesi”, located  in the Jewish quarter and  the synagogue  is one of the most exotic Jewish communities who settled  in India after the destruction of the Temple.
•  In Synagogue we observed handmade tiles made in China that came to cochin  250 years ago, and the gold crown of Torah That  Carla King gave to the Jewish.  Later we will visit the tomb of Rabbi Nehemiah  mota, a kabbalist from Yemen  who came to India Before about 391 years.

In time transfer to Cochin airport to connect flight to Delhi.
As soon as you arrive at Delhi airport, our representative will welcome you, later  proceed visit the “Judah Chaim” Synagogue. Jews have lived in India since ancient times, and their communities are even mentioned in the Talmud. Later set out to explore and experience the capital of Muslim India between the 12th and 20th centuries, the Old Delhi. A Persian couplet inscribed on a wall in the magnificent Red Fort (from outside) says, “If on earth be an eden of bliss, it is this, it is this, none but this.” No doubt the emperor whose home it became found it pretty blissful, with its many plush private apartments and trappings of Mughal grandeur, wealth and power. Constructed in 1639 AD, this UNESCO World Heritage Site will amaze you with what you find inside it today.
And speaking of grandeur, the nearby Jama Masjid Mosque, the largest in India, has a courtyard that can hold 25,000 worshippers.
Followed by Rickshaw ride. A poignant visit to Rajghat, the site of Mahatma Gandhi’s cremation and a memorial to this humble man who so changed the world.
Afternoon we explore India’s bustling capital city the New Delhi visiting the Vijay Chowk, “Victory Square”, stopover at the Presidential Palace with its intriguing combination of classical and Indian design elements and the India Gate memorializing Indian soldiers who died in World War I. And lastly visit the Qutab Minar, the tallest brick minaret in the world. Also, visit to Humayun’s Tomb.

• Delhi, this bustling capital, on the surface it is very much a symbol of developing, modern India but scattered throughout the city are testaments to Delhi’s intriguing past. The vast Red Fort and the Jama Masjid Mosque, one of the largest in India, remain central to the old city’s structure and are a wonderful introduction to the architectural splendors of northern India. Between the two run the narrow lanes of Chandni Chowk, where spice traders continue to ply their pungent wares in a scene unchanged for centuries The designation of New Delhi as the British capital in 1911 heralded the construction of wide tree-lined streets and colonial architecture designed by Lutyens. Open parkland and imposing colonial buildings are connected by a series of vast boulevards that contrast markedly with the winding alleys of Old Delhi.

Transfer to international airport in time to connect flight for back home.