Kehilla 2017: Itinerary

Greece: November 2-9, 2017

Thursday, November 2

• Mission Participants Arrive; Check In at the Hotel N.J. V. Athens Plaza
• 3 PM: Welcome/Orientation
• Walking tour of the Plaka, the historic market area of Athens
• 7 PM: Dinner at kosher restaurant followed by meeting with Moses Constantinis, President of the Central Board of Jewish Communities In Greece

Friday, November 3

• 8-10 AM: Working breakfast with Israeli and American Ambassadors
• 10:30 AM meeting with George Kanellos, Principal of the Athens Jewish Community School. Tour of school and school chesed assignments
• After lunch, visit the Acropolis, Temple of Olympian Zeus, Hadrian’s Arch, the Theatre of Dionysus and the Palace
• Meeting with Zanet Battinou, Athens Jewish Museum Director. Athens Jewish Museum tour followed by visit to the Athens Jewish Communal and Youth Center
• 3:30 Return to the hotel, prepare for Shabbat
• 4:58 PM Candle Lighting; Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat @Beth Shalom
• Shabbat Dinner with members of Athens Jewish Community
• Hotel/Shul Oneg Shabbat

Shabbat, November 4

• Breakfast in the hotel
• 9:00 AM: Shabbat services-davening/leyning Mission participants; Kiddush
• Shabbat Lunch with Chief Rabbi Gabriel Negrin and community guests
• 2:00 PM: Walking Tour of Athens past and present
• Visit the Beth Shalom Sephardic Synagogue, Athens’ Main synagogue and view the Romaniot Synagogue
• 4:57 PM Mincha/Seudah Shlisheet/Ma’ariv/Havdalah
• 5:57 PM Shabbat ends
• 7:00 PM Kosher dinner and dance like Zorba at a Greek Taverna

Sunday, November 5

• Departure to Halkis
• Visit the synagogue and cemetery in Halkis. Meet with local Jewish community
• Box Lunch
• Depart for Volos. Visit the Volos Synagogue and cemetery. Meet the President and Vice President of the Volos Jewish Community: Raphael Frezis and Elias Kones.
• Overnight in Volos

Monday, November 6 

• Breakfast at hotel
• Depart for Veroia. Learn about the tragic history near the synagogue
• Depart for Salonika and visit the Alexander The Great Museum
• Salonika Chesed Activity at Old People’s Home, Shoah Survivors
• Dinner followed by Baklava instruction at Jewish Community Center
• Walking and/or bus tour of Salonika/meet with David Saltiel, former president of the Jewish communities of Greece.
• Overnight in Salonika at Davitel Hotel

Tuesday, November 7 

• Breakfast at the hotel
• Visit to the Yad L’Zikaron Synagogue; Jewish History Museum
• Visit to the Square of the Jewish Martyrs, The Old/New Jewish Cemeteries; Holocaust Memorial; Synagogue of the Monastrinotes; Jewish Community Center; Archaeological Museum
• Box lunch
• Visit to Jewish school in Salonika and chesed activity
• Dinner followed by free time
• Overnight in Salonika
• Optional Historic Segway Tour of Salonika**

Wednesday, November 8 

• Breakfast in the hotel
• Departure to Athens
• Stop in Larissa and meet with local Jewish representatives
• Chesed visit to Restion Hebrew Home, Holocaust survivors.
• Lunch
• Visit to the Monastiraki district, the Benaki Museum and Hadrians’s library.
• Free Time
• Farewell Dinner
• Overnight in Athens N.J.V. Hotel Plaza

Thursday, November 9

• Morning departure to the Athens Airport

Tour Features

• Seven (7) nights accommodation in four & five star deluxe hotels including taxes, service charges and baggage handling (1 standard size bag plus 1 carry-on per person)
• 7 breakfasts, 6 lunches & 7 dinners
• Extensive sightseeing with expert local guides and Rabbi Joel & Aviva Tessler including entrance fees where applicable
• Hands on Chesed Activities
• Political Action
• History & Culture
• Private deluxe motor coach

Notes

• *Itinerary Subject To Change
• **Optional Historic Segway Tour of Salonika: Extra Charge
• Cost: $3,495 per person; Single Supplement: $600