The Sephardic Legacy of Thessaloniki: Greece’s “Jerusalem of the Balkans”

The city of Thessaloniki (Thessalonica, Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica) was founded around 315 BCE by the Macedonian ancestors of Alexander the Great. Thessaloniki sits on the crossroads of ancient trading routes to Asia and Northern Europe and became an important port and trading center. It’s also been home to a Jewish community for 2, 000 years. During the golden age of the Sephardic Jews in Thessaloniki, refugees from the Spanish Inquisition thrived under Ottoman rule. The city was renowned as the Jerusalem of the Balkans!

Prior to World War Two, and the horrors of the Holocaust, Thessaloniki had the second largest Jewish community in Europe. The Salonican Jews made a huge contribution to Jewish heritage in Greece. 21st century Thessaloniki is becoming a major destination for American Jews who want to explore the city’s wonderful Jewish heritage and visit the surviving Jewish cultural treasures. If you want to learn more about the region’s fascinating Jewish history, and the benefits of a luxury private tour of Thessaloniki, read on!

The Jewish history of Thessaloniki began with the Hellenized Jews who made their mark on Roman era Greece, creating their own distinctive culture within the Empire. Ashkenazi refugees and other Jews added to the medieval Salonican community, but the Jerusalem of the Balkans really emerged with the arrival of Sephardic Jews from Spain and Portugal (and also from France and Italy) in the 15th century. They were also joined by some Ashkenazi Jews who were forcibly relocated by their Ottoman overlords.

The arrival of the sophisticated and ambitious newcomers gave a game changing boost to the economic and cultural life of both the city and its surroundings. As the Jewish population rapidly expanded, new industries and commercial ventures took off. The growing prosperity and security was reflected in Thessaloniki’s vibrant cultural, religious and community life.

By the mid-1500s, Jews controlled Thessaloniki’s booming Mediterranean sea trade and were active in the fishing and wool industries. Subsequent centuries saw economic decline, with some Jewish emigration to other provinces of the Ottoman Empire, as well as conversions to Islam. The 1850 saw a fresh resurgence of Jewish fortunes. New educational ideas, the Haskalah, industrialization and a broadly tolerant rabinut created the conditions for cultural and economic growth. Both periods were characterized by generous philanthropy and community development with the establishment of schools, hospitals, and charitable organizations.

In 1912, Thessaloniki reverted to Greek control with further modernisation and Jewish integration. The Great Fire of Thessaloniki in 1917 - and the rebuilding program - was a disastrous blow that precipitated the decline of Salonican Jewry. Much of the old Jewish quarters were destroyed and Jews ceased to be a majority in the city. In April 1941, the greatest disaster struck. German invaders entered the city and began to persecute its Jewish inhabitants. They went on to deport and murder more than 90% of Salonican Jews. Today there are just 1,300 Jews living in Thessaloniki.

Thessaloniki was almost a proto-Jewish state during its golden age. The Jerusalem of the Balkans. The city’s strong Jewish majority paid its taxes to the Ottomans and enjoyed a high degree of autonomy in return. The wonderful Sephardi Salonican culture blossomed and became a precious part of the wider Jewish heritage. The unique threads of diverse Sephardic religious rituals were integrated into Greek Judaism over the centuries and continue to fascinate and delight scholars today.

Thessaloniki culture placed a high value on music, drawing on old Andalusian traditions and absorbing influences from every country that Sephardi Jewish refugees passed through, as well as Ashkenazi and Ottoman musical inputs. Modern singers like Israel’s Yasmin Levy and Greece’s Savinna Yannatou have successfully revived many Sephardic folk songs and melodies, even singing in Ladino.

Greece was one of the cradles of human civilization. In addition to its amazing natural beauty - hundreds of miles of beaches and stunning mountain ranges -  it is replete with historical and archaeological sites. Not surprisingly, Greece is one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations. Any visitor to Greece who is interested in Jewish history and culture should visit Thessaloniki at least once.

The former mayor of Thessaloniki, Yiannis Boutaris recently died. He was instrumental in preserving the city’s Jewish past and exposing a new generation to Greece’s Jewish heritage. Boutaris also pushed for the creation of Thessaloniki’s Holocaust Memorial Museum and invited Israel’s then-president Reuven Rivlin to lay the foundation stone.

The deportation of Thessaloniki’s Jews is also commemorated by the stark Menorah in flames sculpture in Eleftherias Square (the site of a major roundup and deportation). The sculpture depicts human bodies and flames twisted into the form of a menorah. It is a simple and powerful memorial.

The Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki is situated in the former Bank of Athens building and documents the history of the Salonican Jews from the third century BCE until the Second World War. There are some fascinating and poignant artifacts, including Jewsih tombstones saved from the 15th century Sephardic cemetery that once contained as many as half a million burials and was destroyed by order of the Nazis.The site of the cemetery contains a simple memorial - another sculptured bronze menorah - and a monument made from marble grave markers.

Another popular destination for walking tours of Thessaloniki is the former Orthodox Monastir Synagogue, painstakingly restored after earthquake damage in 1978. The art deco style building was originally funded by Jews from Monastir in Yugoslavia and is no longer in regular use. Your Jewish travel company can arrange for a private guided tour led by an expert English speaking guide.

There were once 42 synagogues in Thessaloniki, but the Monastir - taken over by the Red Cross as a warehouse -  was the only one to survive World War Two. Modern worshipers use either the Yad Lezicaron, housed in the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki building, or a small shul in the Modeano old people’s home. The city’s Jewish community welcomes American guests who want to visit their synagogues, or join them for Shabbat or holiday celebrations, but it’s better to make arrangements through your tour guides.

The best time - or at least the most popular time - to visit Greece is from early April to the end of September. Winters are wet and can be cold, particularly in the mountains. Summers are hot with beautiful Mediterranean sunshine and cloudless skies. If you plan to do a lot of walking, aim for the spring or early autumn, or be prepared for some early morning walking tours that avoid the heat of the day.

Greece is generally a very safe country to visit and your private tour guides will ensure that your group is not exposed to any risks from the petty crime and street scams that seem to be inevitable in most of the world’s urban locations. Your Jewish travel company will also work with you to create a Shabbat friendly itinerary and meet any requirements for kosher hotels and food.

The Sephardic Jews in Thessaloniki left a unique and poignant legacy that everybody who is interested in Jewish history should explore. A well planned tour with expert guides can bring that history to life and give you a special insight into a once-flourishing Sephardic society, where Ladino speaking Jews were leaders in commerce, seafaring and industry, and built a golden age of religious and cultural achievement based around Thessaloniki: the Jerusalem of the Balkans!

Talk to Gil Travel today about a family or group tour of Greece, with visits to Jewish sites in Athens, Thessaloniki, Corfu, Crete and the other Islands.

This post was written in collaboration with Iris Hami is President of Gil Travel Group, the largest travel management firm sending people to Israel. She has over 40 years of experience in the travel industry, and uses that knowledge to craft unique Jewish journeys around the world. Her company has won multiple awards, including one from State of Israel Bonds for Extraordinary Achievements Promoting the State of Israel.