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Exploring Jewish Greece with Temple Sinai Atlanta

Apr 20, 2025 - May 4, 2025

Led by Rabbi Ron Segal & Shirley Bernes
This Journey is limited to 40 people. All registrations above 40 will be wait-listed.
Sunday, April 20, 2025
DEPARTURE
  • Depart USA for Athens.
Overnight: In Flight
Day 2
Monday, April 21, 2025
ARRIVAL TO GREECE AND CLASSICAL ATHENS
  • Arrive at Athens International Airport, with assistance from a Makor Educational Journeys representative.
  • Introductory drive through the city of Athens.
  • Lunch on own.
  • In-depth guided tour of the Acropolis and Parthenon.
  • Visit Classical sites in Athens, including the Olympian and Hadrian’s Library.
  • Check in to the hotel with time for rest and relaxation.
  • Introduction: Jewish Greece and its Communities – The Romaniyot Jews.
  • Welcome dinner at a local restaurant with a leader of the Athens Jewish Community for a discussion about contemporary Jewish life in Greece.
Overnight: Athens, Divani Acropolis Palace
Day 3
Tuesday, April 22, 2025
JEWISH ATHENS
  • Breakfast at the hotel.
  • Curator led tour of the Jewish Museum of Greece with Zanet Battinou.
  • Synagogue is a Greek word: Guided tours of the Beth Shalom and Etz Chaim Synagogues.
  • Visit Holocaust Memorial and Jewish Cultural Center.
  • Lunch on own
  • Visit the Agora, the site of Athens traditional classical market and continue to Syntagma Square, symbol of Greek independence and the modern Greek state.
  • Return to the hotel for rest and relaxation.
  • Free evening, dinner on own: explore lively Placa Quarter.
Overnight: Athens, Divani Acropolis Palace
Day 4
Wednesday, April 23, 2025
THESSANOLIKI
  • Breakfast at the hotel and check-out.
  • Morning flight to Thessaloniki. (Salonica)
  • Guided tour of Thessaloniki, including the Rotunda, Fortress (Eptagyrion), White Tower and Ataturk Museum, with lunch on own during the tour.
  • Check in to hotel.
  • Free evening to explore the Ladadika District with dinner on own.
Overnight: Thessanoliki, Mediterranean Palace
Day 5
Thursday, April 24, 2025
THESSANOLIKI - THE JERUSALEM OF THE BALKANS
  • Breakfast at the hotel.
  • In-depth tour of Jewish Thessaloniki, a major center of Jewish life and learning before the Holocaust, including the Museum of the History of the Jews of Salonica, Yeni Mosque, Synagogues, Jewish Cemetery, Allatini and Modiano Villas.
  • Market Tasting Tour for lunch.
  • Continue exploring Jewish Thessaloniki, including the Carasso ArcadeModiano MarketYahoudi Hammam, and Freedom Square Holocaust Memorial, dedicated to 65,000 Thessaloniki Jews murdered in the Holocaust.
  • Return to the hotel.
  • Dinner with members of the Thessaloniki Jewish Community at the Jewish Community Center.
  • Optional late-night exploration of Thessaloniki.
Overnight: Thessanoliki, Mediterranean Palace
Day 6
Friday, April 25, 2025
METEORA - LAND OF CLIFFHANGING MONASTERIES
  • Breakfast at the hotel and check-out.
  • Drive to Meteora.
  • Visit Nikolaus and other cliff-hanging monasteries in the dramatic Meteora landscape.
  • Lunch on own.
  • Drive to Ioannina.
  • Check in to hotel.
  • Kabbalat Shabbat followed by Shabbat Dinner in a private room at the hotel.
Overnight: Ioannina, Grand Serai
Day 7
Saturday, April 26, 2025
SHABBAT IN IOANNINA – CITY OF LEVITES
  • Breakfast at the hotel.
  • Shabbat morning exploration of Jewish Ioannina, once the Castro Jewish Quarter and Kahal Kadosh Yashan Romaniyot Synagogue. (The visit to the synagogue might need to be delayed until Sunday morning)
  • Lunch on own
  • Tour of Castle Town, including an opportunity to meander through the alleyways of the town and visits to some of the following, depending on time:
    • Acropolis of Its Kale, with the Fethiye Mosque, and The Byzantine Museum
    • The Acropolis of Aslan Pasha and mosque, which today houses the Ethnographic Museum of Ioannina.
  • Lakeside Dinner in a restaurant.
Overnight: Ioannina, Grand Serai
Day 8
Sunday, April 27, 2025
CLASSICAL AND JEWISH CORFU
  • Breakfast at the hotel and check out.
  • Drive to Igoumenitsa for ferry to Corfu.
  • Ferry to Corfu.
  • Visit the Corfu Old Town, including the Venetian Fortress and Spyridon Church, with lunch on your own.
  • Guided tour of Corfu’s Jewish Quarter and only surviving synagogue, the Scuola Greca.
  • Check into the hotel, with free time for personal exploration.
  • Dinner on own.
Overnight: Corfu, Kerkyra Blue
Day 9
Monday, April 28, 2025
A DAY IN THE CORFU SUN
  • Breakfast at the hotel.
  • Free time for Relaxation in the Sun on one of Corfu’s famous beaches.
  • Boat Tour along the Corfu coast.
  • Lunch on your own.
  • Later afternoon excursion to a Corfu Winery, followed by Dinner and Music at a Greek Tavern.
Overnight: Corfu, Kerkyra Blue
Day 10
Tuesday, April 29, 2025
EN ROUTE TO RHODES
  • Breakfast at the hotel and check-out.
  • Drive to Corfu airport.
  • Flight to Rhodes via Athens.
  • Lunch on your own en route.
  • Arrive in Rhodes in the afternoon.
  • Visit the Lively Market Area, where you can sample delicious local cuisine and purchase souvenirs
  • Check in to hotel.
  • Explore Rhodes by night with dinner on your own at one of the many traditional Greek restaurants.
Overnight: Rhodes, Hotel Mediterranean
Day 11
Wednesday, April 30, 2025
RHODES: OF JEWS AND KNIGHTS
  • Breakfast at the hotel.
  • Drive to the East Coast of the city and visit The Jewish Cemetery, one of the best preserved in Europe and containing gravestones from the 1840’s to the present.
  • Continue to the “Kahal Shalom” Synagogue, the oldest synagogue in Greece. It was built in 1577 and is still in service, followed by a visit to the Jewish Museum of Rhodes.
  • Lunch on own en route.
  • Visit the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes, an extraordinary castle built 700 years ago by the Order of Malta.
  • Walk along the Street of the Knights, a beautiful cobbled street lined with medieval houses, and the towering defensive walls that once protected the city.
  • Continue outside the city walls, and take a quick peek at the Mandraki Harbor, where according to tradition, the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, once stood.
  • Return to hotel.
  • Early Farewell Dinner at a Rhodes restaurant.
  • Transfer to Rhodes Airport for flight to Athens at 8:50pm.
  • Check in to hotel.
Overnight: Athens, Sofitel Airport Hotel
Thursday, May 1, 2025
DEPARTURE
  • Breakfast at the hotel (in Athens Airport) and check-out.
  • Walk to terminal in Athens Airport.
  • Depart on return flight to the United States, arriving on the same day.
Overnight: In flight

Program is subject to change, pending confirmations.

 

$5,550*
Price per person, based on double occupancy
$680*
Single-occupancy supplement

 

* Based on 30 full-paying participants.
*Prices do not include international flights.

HOTELS:

2 nights, Athens, Divani Acropolis Palace
2 nights, Thessanoliki, Mediterranean Palace
2 nights, Ioannina, Grand Serai
2 nights, Corfu, Kerkyra Blue
1 night, Rhodes, Hotel Mediterranean
1 night, Athens Airport, Sofitel Hotel

 

LAND PRICE INCLUDES:
  • Arrival Welcome at the airport for one group flight upon arrival
  • Airport Transfers
  • Domestic flights and transfers:
    • Flight from Athens to Thessaloniki
    • Ferry en route from Ioannina to Corfu
    • Flight from Corfu to Athens
    • Flight from Athens to Rhodes
    • Flight from Rhodes to Athens
  • Makor Educator/Field Staff – 11 days:
  • All group Transportation on a private luxury bus – 11 days
  • Hotel Accommodations per above or similar, pending confirmation
  • Source Materials, Hat, Bag, Map
  • Water provided daily on bus – 2 bottles per person per day
  • Porterage at hotels
  • Field Coordinator throughout
  • All Site Admissions as per the itinerary
  • Meals:
    • Daily Breakfast
    • 1 Lunch
    • 6 Dinners
LAND PACKAGE DOES NOT INCLUDE:
  •    Tips for Guide and Driver
  •    Meals on own and out of pocket expenses
  •    Travel and Medical Insurance
  •    International Flights

 

PAYMENT AND REFUND SCHEDULE:
Payment Schedule

Upon Registration — NON-Refundable deposit of $500 per participant

January 20, 2025 — 50% of total Payment

March 10, 2025 — Full Payment

 

Refund Schedule

Cancel before March 10, 2025 — Full Refund

Cancel after March 10, 2025 — No Refund

 

TRAVEL INTERRUPTION AND MEDICAL INSURANCE:

We urge you to check with your provider about your medical coverage while traveling oversees, and to purchase medical insurance & supplemental medical coverage if necessary (which covers pre-existing conditions).

We also urge you to purchase trip cancellation insurance. This is a smart way to safeguard against life’s uncertainties.  You can often purchase a policy through a travel agent when you purchase your plane ticket, through your personal insurance agent, or on-line.

A note about Insurance:

  • most insurance policies require purchase within 21 days of your first payment in order to receive maximum coverage (pre-existing conditions, bankruptcy insurance, etc).
  • even if you do not yet know the final trip cost (e.g. flights), write down the amount you do know – and then at a later date, the insurance premium can be amended.
  • trip dates are for the entire period away from home
  • trip costs are all pre-paid expenses (e.g. airfare + land costs)

For more information, contact Rabbi Ron Segal ([email protected]), or Makor Educational Journeys’ representative, Rabbi Misha Zinkow ([email protected]; 1-833-GoMakor)

RECOMMENDED FLIGHTS BELOW ~~ Kindly book flights to/from ATHENS. Makor handles all domestic flights and other group transportation in Greece. If you would like assistance in booking your flight, you may contact: Alli Allen | [email protected] | cell – (404) 550-0069. Alli can be especially helpful if you want assistance planning travel before and/or after our program and with the purchase of travel interruption insurace. You are also free to book your own flights or to use your own travel agent.

Departure Flight to Athens
Return Flight to Atlanta

Depart Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Sunday, April 20, 2025 at 5:15 PM on flight DL 222 to Athens International Airport, arriving at 10:45 AM (non-stop).

Depart Athens International Airport on Thursday, May 1, 2025 at 10:30 AM on flight DL 223 to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, arriving at 4:05 PM (non-stop).

Return Flight to Atlanta

Depart Athens International Airport on Thursday, May 1, 2025 at 10:30 AM on flight DL 223 to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, arriving at 4:05 PM (non-stop).