Day 9 of #TurkeyJewishRoadtrip:

Ayvalık/Troy/Çanakkale/Dardanelles Strait

Waking tp to the view of the Agean sea and #Cunda was quite amazing - not to say pretty relaxing... We are going to Çanakkale!
Last night me and Chaim were walking in Ayvalık - a coffee shop owner noticing the Kipah on Chaim's head walks over:

- "Are you guys Jewish by any chance?" - "Of course!" we say.
- "Let's have coffee, its on me. Last year I got stuck in Israel for 8 months during the pandemic."
He was excited to see Jews walking on the streets of his hometown, and is planning on opening an identical coffee shop in Tel Aviv...

Leave a comment if you prefer the Sunset over Sunrise...

Back to Çanakkale...
The Mekor Hayim (Source of Life) synagogue of Çanakkale...
The Midraş of Çanakkale - in the Turkish Jewish tradition, the Cheder Sheni, or Small synagogue usually used during the weekdays, is called Midrash.

I assume because that is also where people gathered to study or listen to Derasha/Speech...
Mekor Hayim is currently used on the occasion that travelers like me and Chaim, or the occasional Kosher supervisor stops in to pray (we prayed Minha there) - ans during the once a year pilgrimage of former Çanakkalis from Istanbul...

However it is open every single day!
The synagogue is on the corner of Eski Havra Sokak (Old Synagogue Street) and across the Yaşar Yohay Sokak. Yaşar (Aşer) Yohay was a much loved Jewish citizen of Çanakkale...
Some more pictures of this meticulously kept Mekor Hayim synagogue of Çanakkale...
We also visited the old Jewish cemetery of #Çanakkale... Sad to see 😢
We couldn't just pass Çanakkale without visiting the #Troy Museum... And if you ever drive through, you must see it! - My grandfather was a Jeweler - but these exquisite hand work from thousands of years ago are unbelievable!
"This is Emperor Hadrian" I tell Chaim as soon as we see this sculpture... "because he is the only emperor with a beard!"...

Of course not counting the one we found last week in Ephesus...

But we are leaving this Trojan horse behind us and crossing the Dardanelles...
Crossing to Gelibolu or #Gallipoli and seeing the "Dor Yolcu" signage and you know you are entering hallowed grounds...
The Şehitler Abidesi, commemorating the fallen in the Gallipoli Campaign/Çanakkale Savaşı - between 17 February 1915 to 9 January 1916...
But wait for this...

Jews too fought at the Gallipoli Campaign... On both sides of the trenches...
The fallen Jews who fought for Turkey are mostly interred at the Acibadem Jewish cemetery (picture below from the net).
I figured that some of the Jews who fought for the Allied are buried right here, in Gelibolu...

It took us some time - but we were able to say a Jewish prayer for E. Judell who died right here, in #Anzac, at the young age of 24...
The post above about praying at #Anzac and at the Şehitler Abidesi - really underlined to my friend Hayati that "It is unbelievable how much Jewish history we have in this country"...

And where will we be tomorrow?

Laila Tov!

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More from @mchitrik

4 Aug
Day 10 of #TurkeyJewishRoadtrip:

Gelibolu and Thrace

Driving through the Gallipoli Peninsula - I am thinking about the words that allegedly Atatürk said in 1934:
"Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives ... You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours ..."
Although some dispute the authenticity of this quote - never the less, after driving through the trenches, the cemeteries, seeing memorials for all those who fiercely fought here on both sides - one must only concur with the underlying message...
Read 10 tweets
2 Aug
Day 8 of #TurkeyJewishRoadtrip:

Bergama (Pergamon)

Guess who rebuilt this beautiful synagogue of #Bergama? Image
This is of course the beautiful synagogue of Bergama... Just a few years ago it was used as a barn, after most Jews have left the city.

While my friend Selim Ozturk was arranging the synagogue to open, @ChaimChitrik and I went up the acropolis to see the ruins of #Pergamon Image
The ruins of this once major city are still quite impressive now! But we were waiting for the keys of the synagogue to arrive... Image
Read 10 tweets
1 Aug
Day 7 of #TurkeyJewishRoadtrip:

Ephesus, Priene, Milas.

Most people heard of Ashkenazi, Sefardi or Mizrahi Jews. Not many heard of Romaniote Jews: Image
Roughly translated as Jews of the Roman/Byzantine Empire - the Romaniote community preceded the Ashkenazim (est. 1250) and Sefardim (est. 1492).

Romaniote Jews lived, for thousands of years, in Asia minor - Anatolia - some Jews in Izmir and Istanbul are their descendents.
In day 4 of #TurkeyJewishRoadtrip we visited the #Sardis Romaniote synagogue, together with Imam @OsmanDe07800433



Today we went to see #Ephesus and Priene...
Read 27 tweets
27 Jul
Day 2 of #TurkeyJewishRoadtrip:

On the road from Bursa to Çeşme

While on road lets talk😊

Did you know that #Turkey is an important source of #Kosher food? Hundreds of manufacturers all over the country produce anything from raw material to ready to eat products.
By the way: Kosher food does not mean food that is blessed by a rabbi!

Rather it is food that has been prepared according to Jewish law - there are no mixtures of meat/milk, it is insect free, meat or chicken have to be prepared properly according to Jewish law and more...
The Turkish Jewish community @tyahuditoplumu through @DenetGida which certifies hundreds of plants, as well as the @OrthodoxUnion and @OKKosher have their field representatives inspect plants to assure they are fit for the kosher consumer.
Read 14 tweets
26 Jul
Day 1 of #TurkeyJewishRoadtrip:

Bursa!

"Every day one should work so that Judaism should thrive - and it will" says in a mixture of #Ladino and Turkish Mr. Leon Elnekave - the head of the 60 strong Jewish community of #Bursa...
Leon bey looks over the Geruş or Expulsion synagogue - named after the various Jews expelled to Bursa - first by the byzantines and later by the Sefardi Jews who arrived from Spain in 1492... Image
There are two "Bimas" at the beautiful #synagogue - one closer to the women section as Leon explains "so that they should hear" - I totally agree: "of course, the Torah is not only for the men!"
Read 18 tweets
26 Jul
Turkey Road Trip 2021:

Join me here for the next three weeks for a daily thread of #Jewish Heritage sites in #Turkey as we, inşallah, explore and discuss #History, customs, ancestry, origins and Jewish life in Turkey! #coexistance

#TurkeyJewishRoadtrip Image
We will also visit #Kosher food manufacturers on behalf of @DenetGida for the @tyahuditoplumu and the @OrthodoxUnion - we will visit ancient #synagogues and archeological sites

Follow me here for regular updates and recommend others too 😊

@TCKulturTurizm #diversity Image
Read 4 tweets

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