My plan for the upcoming week was to drive through the Douro Valley, then south through the Alentejo region (the area where most Jews lived prior to the inquisition) with a few detours, and then on to the Alrgarve, Portugal’s southern coast. The weather in the Douro and Alentejo was in the 60s and most days were sunny. I had a hard time finding suitable hotels that weren’t dumps on this route, but I managed to find something within reasonable distance of where I was planning to start the next day. Most towns and villages in the Alentejo have a free parking lot outside the city walls where I was able to drop off my car to avoid having to navigate through the tiny streets (although you are allowed to drive into most towns if you so desire, I don’t recommend it. It’s not worth the damage your car will very likely suffer, and 99% of the time you won’t find street parking inside the town walls anyway). I found it interesting that Jews chose to settle in the Douro Valley and Alentjo region, as it's mountainous and not as accessible as coastal cities. (Below: map of Douro to Algarve route).
After leaving Porto, I headed along the Douro River, a scenic route that passes through the Douro Valley, Portugal’s wine country. My first stop was at the Fundação da Casa de Mateus (Mateus Palace). It was a good stop to break up the drive a bit, but it wasn’t worth my time. The gardens are nice, but the house is not a beauty.
I then took the scenic route from Sabrosa to Pinhao villages. I stopped every few minutes at designated overlooks to admire the view.
Miradouro de Casal de Loivos
I then proceeded to Trancoso, a town which is famous for having its walls and doors decorated with stone carvings of New Christians. Prior to the inquisition Trancoso was almost entirely inhabited by Jews. When the edict of expulsion was issued about 150 Jews left Trancoso- the remaining Jews were all forcibly baptized, and many were later persecuted by the inquisition. Today, no Jews remain in Trancoso.
Portas D'El Rei Trancoso- Trancoso’s main gate
Centro de Interpretação da Cultura Judaica Isaac Cardoso/ Casa de Bandarra is a solemn museum of the inquisition, of Trancoso’s Jews, and an exhibit on Isaac Cardoso.
Poço do Mestre- this well was purportedly the location of the community's mikveh
Casa de Gato Preto House- this house was originally inhabited by a descendant of Shevet Yehudah, hence the lion
Marking etched into a house in Trancoso- there are approximately 300 marks like these etched into the houses in Trancoso, generally used to symbolize the home of a New Christian.
Castelo de Trancoso
I then drove to the Puralã Wool Valley Hotel, the closest decent hotel that I was able to find near the town of Belmonte. This turned out to be a great choice- the staff was courteous and helpful with my freezer needs, and the room was neat and clean.
Tuesday morning, I started my day in Belmonte. I had read a lot about this amazing community that was forced to convert in the 1500’s when the inquisition came knocking and managed to preserve their traditions for hundreds of years. They were discovered in 1917 by Samuel Schwartz, a Polish Jew in Portugal on business. In 1974 when Portugal’s dictatorship was overthrown, Belmonte’s Jews started the process of becoming more open about their practices. Most of them officially converted to Judaism in 1994 as they did not have documents proving their matrilineal line (I’m not a posek so I can’t say much about their geirus, or about the status of the current community and those that chose not to convert). About 50 Jews currently live in Belmonte, as majority of the community has since moved to Israel.
The second I drove into the town I felt like I was in an alternate universe. Many of the signs are in Hebrew, and stores advertise as kosher (more on that below). At the first shop I stepped into the shopkeeper wore a kippah and introduced me to his wife and daughter, who were overjoyed to meet an American Jew. They were very open in explaining to me that their kosher was not the same standard as what is generally accepted by Americans as kosher, and that I shouldn’t assume that anything is kosher unless I recognize the hechsher. The only thing that ended up being recognizably kosher was the wine- they have imports from Israel, France, and Spain.
Castelo de Belmonte- I purchased a 5-museum pass here for $10- it includes the Belmonte Castle, Olive Oil Museum, Jewish Museum, and Museum Descobrimentos).
Olive Oil Museum- this is a tiny and rather boring museum. I stopped in to pass some time before my scheduled 11AM shul tour.
Sinagoga de Belmonte/ Sinagoga Beit Eliahu- I booked an 11AM tour here in advance (empds.belmonte@gmail.com). The shul has a minyan every Shabbos and Belmonte has an eiruv. The shul was built in the 80s after the Portuguese dictatorship was abolished, but before they officially converted.
I then headed to the Jewish Museum of Belmonte. This fascinating museum explains some of the traditions the community held onto to preserve their Jewishness. They fasted on Yom Kippur and Taanis Esther (a popular fast day for Anusim), before Easter they would go out at night to pick wheat in order to bake “cakes”. They had a special water pitcher only used for this activity, and they baked the cakes for 12-13 min start to finish. Next, I visited the Museum Descobrimentos, a museum devoted to the discovery of Brazil. While the signage is all in Portuguese, the interactive touchscreens have an English language option. I then stopped by the Belmonte Sinai Hotel. It’s advertised as kosher so went to check it out- the waitstaff informed me that the meat is not kosher, and that they use the same dishes for everything… not exactly my level of kashrus.
Next, I headed to Aveiro, which bills itself as the “Venice of Portugal” with many small canals. It was rather boring so unless you’re passing through here, I’d say skip it.
Aveiro Train Station
Cais do Cojo- canal streets
Farol de Aveiro
Praia da Costa Nova- this beach town is renowned for its colorful houses
Next, I headed to Conimbriga, an ancient Roman town with beautiful ruins. I arrived too late to view the ruins, which close earlier than the museum. I toured the museum and came back here the next day to view the ruins. I then headed to Coimbra and checked into the Archisuites Hotel (
https://www.archi-suites.com/ more of an Airbnb place really). Parking in Coimbra is a nightmare, but I managed to find an open spot nearby.
Coimbra was once the capital of Portugal, and houses Portugal’s oldest University. I had pre-purchased 9AM tickets to visit the university’s historical buildings, but the instructions on where the tour starts weren’t on the ticket, so I walked all the way to the visitor’s office only to find out that the tour starts at the Biblioteca Joanina library, which was a lot closer to my accommodations. They were kind enough to reissue my ticket for 9:40, even though all slots were full, so that my time in Coimbra wasn’t in vain. (There is an English guided tour of the University available most days on 3PM but it didn’t suit my schedule so I did the self-guided tour instead). Coimbra is also the site of the oldest known Jewish community in Portugal, with documents dating back to year 950.
Biblioteca Joanina- this is the most beautiful library I have ever seen (pictures of the interior are not permitted☹ ). They have a colony of bats here that were specifically bred to eat insects that damage the books. The library here has the Bíblia Hebraica de Abravanel, an illustrated handwritten Chumash which was commissioned by Don Isaac Abravanel in 1450 in Lisbon. The book is not available for public viewings, and I was not able to secure advance permission to view it.
Miradouro do Mercado Municipal D. Pedro V- overlook
The site of what is believed to be the community’s women’s mikveh of 1370 is on Rua Visconde da Luz 19/21. I met a few members of the historical council while I was there, and they plan to open the site to the public next year.
Manga Cloister- another good overlook of Coimbra
Fonte Nova ou dos Judeus- this fountain used to be at the boundary of the Jewish quarter, hence its name.
Next I headed back to Conímbriga to visit the ruins I missed out on the day before.
Back in Coimbra, I visited the Patio Inquisição where the inquisition was headquartered. The Coimbra Inquisition had jurisdiction over all cases from Central and Northern Portugal and logged over 11,000 cases. 200 New Christians were burned to death here in the Inquisition Square, as well as in Coimbra's city square.
I found the exhibit here fascinating (
https://portuguesejewishnews.com/news/coimbra-has-a-permanent-exhibition-about-the-inquisition/ ) and professional- they have an audio app for download where there’s a ton of information available. It’s located in the former inquisition’s prison building, and the dungeons are open to visitors.
Next, I headed to the Castle of Lousã. This is tiny a castle that was good for a quick spot to stretch my legs but not worth it otherwise.
I then headed to the town of Tomar, where the Tomar Synagogue/ Luso-Hebrew Museum of Abrãao Zacuto is located. This shul was built in the 1460s and shut down in 1496 when Jews were formally expelled from Portugal. This is one of only two recognized pre-inquisition shuls in Portugal today.
Castelo de Tomar- this is a large and beautifully maintained castle. I only visited part of it, as one half is a convent.
Next, I drove to Portalegre to check into the José Régio hotel.
The next morning, I started my day in the town of Castelo de Vide- many Jews fled from Spain into Portugal in 1492 and ended up here in this border town. While no trace of Anusim remains in Castelo de Vide today, many townspeople have a tradition to this day to bake unleavened bread before Easter.
Rua das Espinosas- this street is named after Baruch Spinoza, whose father lived on this street. It’s rumored that he was born here as well.
Judiaria de Castelo de Vide- these streets were once part of the town's Jewish Quarter
Sinagoga de Castelo de Vide- This synagogue was built in the late 1300s, discovered in 1969, and is the second of only two surviving pre-inquisition shuls in Portugal. Everything here is in Portuguese, but they sell an English language pamphlet explaining everything.
An indentation in a doorpost for a mezuzah.
Castle of Castelo de Vide- small castle overlooking the town of Castelo de Vide
Next, I headed to Marvão Castle.
Outside of Marvão is the Ponte Romana da Portagem. This tollgate bridge was established by Portugal to control and tax the entry of Jews expelled from Spain that were pouring into Portugal in 1492 as refugees. Approximately 15,000 Jews entered through this bridge, and then continued onto Marvão and Castelo de Vide where various Chessed organizations were set up to help them settle in Portugal (unfortunately they were forced to continue on just a few short years later).
Memorial to the refugees who made the crossing in 1492.
Next, I headed to Elvas. My first stop was at the Forte de Nossa Senhora da Graça, a huge military fort. You can wander here for hours, although all the sides of the fort are mirror image so if you see one side of it you’ve seen it all.
Amoreira Aqueduct
While Portugal only has two officially recognized shuls (in Tomar and Castelo de Vide) that predates the inquisition, the Casa da História Judaica de Elvas is expected to become the third once historians reach a consensus that it was indeed used as a shul. The twelve columns are thought to correspond to the Twelve Tribes of Israel.
Castelo de Elvas
I then started the 3-hour drive from Elvas to the Algarve (per Google Maps it should take closer to 3.5 hours, but with speeding being the name of the game in Portugal, I managed to cut down with 30 minutes). On the way I stopped at Beja Castle to stretch my legs.
I visited Evora, a town in the Alentejo with a rich Jewish past towards the end of my trip, so continue reading if you’d like to hear more😊
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