CRYSTAL EXPLORES WORLDWIDE JEWISH HERITAGE

11-04-2009

LOS ANGELES, November 3, 2009 – For 2010, Crystal Cruises is offering numerous optional Crystal Adventures that focus on destinations’ Jewish Heritage.  The excursions enable travelers to absorb a region’s diverse spiritual culture, explore Judaic history and even trace their roots in the cities of Jerusalem, Berlin, Odessa, Rome, St. Petersburg, and even unexpected places like Stockholm, Dublin, Mumbai and Montevideo.  

 

“Often, guests seek experiences that are not only historically significant, but personally relevant.  It helps connect travelers to a foreign destination.  Guests may be surprised at some cities that have a rich Jewish history, and thriving modern Jewish culture,” said John Stoll, director, land programs. 

 

Many options in Jerusalem explore the Jewish Quarter; the Western Wall, the holiest of Jewish sites; Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes Remembrance Authority, dedicated to the history of Jews during the Holocaust period; and other significant locations.  Additionally, Jewish tours throughout the world include:

 

Berlin

* Sachsenhausen Concentration camp, a prototype for all the camps that followed.

* Jewish Old Quarter and the New Synagogue, laid in 1988, exactly 50 years after the “Night of Broken Glass.”

 

Dublin

* The Irish Jewish Museum, formerly a synagogue, opened by President Chaim Herzog, Israel’s Irish former leader, plus a visit to his childhood home.

 

Montevideo

* The Uruguay city’s historic Sephardic and Ashkenazi synagogues, as well as the Holocaust memorial and a glimpse into modern-day Jewish life.

 

Mumbai

* An array of Indian synagogues and other important Judaic cultural sites.

 

Odessa

* Shomrei Shabbos synagogue; the Jewish Cemetery and memorial to Shalom Aleyhem, famed Ukrainian writer of Fiddler on the Roof.

 

Rome

* The Jewish Ghetto, issued by anti-Semitic Pope Paul IV in 1555, isolated by walls until 1870.

 

St. Petersburg

* Special concert by the cantor of the Great Choral Synagogue, the second largest in Europe.

 

Stockholm

* The Great Synagogue, and its memorial to 8,500 Swedish Holocaust victims, plus one of the few Jewish museums in Scandinavia.

 

The tours are available on itineraries throughout 2010.  For more information and Crystal reservations, contact a travel agent, call 888-799-4625, or visit crystalcruises.com.

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