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Acre Old City Market

The Crusader city of Acre lies on the Mediterranean coast just north of Haifa. It is one of the most beautiful ancient cities in Israel with a hidden Crusader city beneath the ground and the 18th century Old City above ground. One of the most exciting things to do in Acre is walking through the Old City where the main streets are lined with market stalls and shops that open up onto the street.

The Acre Old City Market is a dirty, colorful, loud and bustling market where the local residents do their shopping among curious tourists. The prices are very reasonable, the vendors friendly and you can even try bargaining. Most of the market is covered so you won’t be in the sun and vendors display their goods hanging from every possible surface and spread out onto the street. The market operates during daylight hours and it is perfectly safe to walk around during the daytime. If you follow the market streets you will eventually reach the sea.

The market’s real purpose is to supply locals who live in the Old City with all they need. Among the goods on sale there is clothing, kitchen utensils, toys, jewelry, accessories, shoes, leather goods and more. Food on sale includes both raw and ready-to-eat food. See the fish monger; butcher; vegetable stalls; cheese and spice stalls. At the bakery see large trays of traditional baklava sweet cakes being prepared. You can find unique traditional items in the Acre Old City Market like hooker pipes. In among the market, stalls are several restaurants selling grilled meats, fish dishes, shawama and falafel.

Having entered the Old City Market and walked for a few meters you will see a doorway on your right that opens up to a gentrified, restored 18th century market street. This market is dedicated to arts, crafts and souvenirs. It is completely different to the Old City Market and is lined with elegant boutiques, eateries and pubs. If the Old City Market is a bit much for you then head in to this quieter and cleaner side street.

Hopla Guide

Hi there! We are Laura et Georges, the team behind Hopla Guide.

We run this project together, and in our spare time, we run our life together. We are an international couple, she’s Argentinian, he’s French, but both “Made in Alsace”.

Travellers, food lovers, culture addicts, wanderers… our lives brought us in many places, from Europe to Latin America.

Every trip, we seek for authentic experiences. We want to discover it all, but freely, spontaneously.

During our trips, we found ourselves with two options: either we had to follow a guided group, losing our independence, or wander around with the feeling of missing out on important places.

What to see ? In what order ? And what souvenirs to buy and bring back home ?

Is there no other way?

What if we could visit a city on our own, with freedom and flexibility, and be sure we are going to see everything, learn about the local culture, and have fun at the same time?

What if we could be guided explorers?

One day, we decided to put our abilities together and innovate. Laura has a master’s degree in tourism specialized in management, marketing and eco-sustainability. Georges has a master’s degree in history of art from Paris-Sorbonne university. We both have professional experience in tourism companies.

That is how Hopla Guide started. We built a solution, reimagined guided tours, and created a complete experience, both physical and digital.

Cultural information had to be accessible to the explorer at any time, so we chose to build a mobile app, allowing interactivity and flexibility.

But we wanted to go further and create something that doesn’t stay on your phone but materialises in the real world. So we selected exciting items that enhance the visit and bring the tour on another level of interaction, using other senses : touch, taste and smell.

We believe in slow tourism, in a respectful and deeper way of discovering. We empower little groups to live a true cultural exploration, not just a quick run in the city to take some pictures and go away without learning anything. Our explorers are meant to get an honest grasp of the local identity.

We invite you to take part in our story and give a chance to another kind of cultural experience.

Jewish Seville: La Judería

Discover with us the most beautiful corners and the most illustrious characters of what was the most extensive Jewish quarter of the Iberian Peninsula.
The Jewish Quarter of Seville is the ultimate place to retrace the footprints of Jewish history in Spain. A neighborhood of singular beauty described by the great romantic travelers of the 19th century. A place to discover the fascinating history of the Jews in the capital of Andalusia.
This visit can be combined with a visit to the Real Alcazar, the oldest royal palace in use in Europe. In the Royal Palace of Seville, Jewish intellectuals, musicians and poets played an important role both in the court of the Muslim king Al-Mutamid and in the court of the Christian kings Fernando III and Alfonso X.
Discover with us the heart of Jewish Andalusia and the fascinating story of the Royal Jews of Seville.

Jewish Cordoba: The City of Maimonides

The Jewish quarter of Córdoba is one of the best preserved medieval Jewish quarters in all of Europe. Home of great thinkers and unsurpassed beauty, its streets and houses keep secrets that fascinate both locals and visitors. In it we can visit the only medieval synagogue preserved until today in Andalusia. Discover with us the fascinating history of this neighborhood, declared a world heritage by the UNESCO, as well as the life and work of its most famous inhabitants such as the great thinker Maimonides.

Rashi Guided Tours with CulturistiQ

Five guided tours with Rashi through architecture, nature, honey, wine, and sacred textes, are proposed through Aube territory by CulturistiQ. These guided tours are an opportunity for discovering the Jewish local history between the lines following Rashi and the Tossafists commentaries on the Talmud and the Bible.

Delphine Yagüe CulturistiQ

Meetings, guided tours or workshops about a specific theme for a 1h30 to 2 hours experience, in a pedagogical and entertaining setting, for group up to 20 persons. Those experiences are built jointly by CulturistiQ and its partners: each partner presents the specificities of its work and heritage while CulturistiQ presents the same thematic through the point of view of Rashi and his disciples. As the writings of the Sages of Champagne are wonderful testimonies of daily life in the Middle Ages in Champagne, it is easy to transmit the local medieval way of life through their description of tools and technics, relationships between Jews and Christians, food, agriculture, nature and so on… All through the “experience”, CulturistiQ and its partners offer a dialogue between elements of local culture and Jewish local history/Jewish culture.

Izmir Jewish Heritage Tour and Synagogue Visits

You will be/can be met at the Kusadasi or Izmir Harbor, Izmir airport, or even at your Hotel in
Izmir and Kusadasi. Then drive to the Karatas area in Izmir.

Visit Beth Israel
Synagogue:
The construction of the Bet Israel Synagogue started on 15 March
1905 upon the decree of Sultan Abdulhamid II, and it was opened to worship in
1907. Bet Israel is the largest, most magnificent, and ceremonial synagogue in
Izmir. However, the temple differs from the traditional Izmir style with its
building style and seating arrangement. It was not built with a central plan
but has been a double practice of Teva from the very beginning. Due to the
location of the building plot, the Ehal (the closet where the Torah rolls are
stored) is placed on the south wall instead of the east wall.

Dario
Moreno Street:
It is located on Dario Moreno Street. There are old
Greek houses lined up left and right in this beautiful street, named after the
famous artist Dario Moreno from Izmir and was formerly called Elevator Street.
There is also the house on the street where Dario Moreno lived for a while.
These houses, each of which has been transformed into small and cute cafes and
art workshops today, add a different spirit to the street.

The Historical
Elevator:
The Historical
Elevator is the best structure to catch the unique view of Izmir Bay with its
promenade at the top. The elevator was built in 1907 by Jewish businessman Nesim
Levi to overcome the topographical barrier between hill neighborhoods above sea
level. Then drive to Konak Square and visit the clock
tower;

Konak Square – Clock Tower- Kemeralti Bazaar:
Izmir Clock Tower, the symbol of Izmir, is the Ottoman Sultan II. It
was built in 1901 as part of the 25th-anniversary celebrations of Abdulhamid’s
accession to the throne. Kemeralti Bazaar is called a
well-established commercial area. This commercial square, which was started
from the Hisar Mosque built in Izmir in 1592, has grown more and more. Since
the 19th century, inns and covered bazaars have been located in the Kemeralti
Bazaar, which has been the liveliest trade point in İzmir. However, the shops
here were referred to as small businesses that local people were interested in.
Options such as blacksmith, coal maker, nail maker, spice and straw bazaar were
located in Kemeralti Bazaar in the past. Commercial shops in different areas
were also found at various points.

Havra Street:
Havra Street, named after the
many synagogues in its vicinity, was a lively shopping center where Kosher
(Halal) food was produced and sold. According to their beliefs, the Jews of
Izmir used to obtain a significant part of their food needs, such as meat,
fish, chicken, yogurt, cheese, and eggs from Havra Street. As with other foods,
wine production was produced in and around this street in accordance with
Kosher rules. You will also have the opportunity to taste the dishes in the
Sephardic cosine. End of the tour drive back to the hotel.

Régine Baumgärtner

I offer guided city tours in English, Spanish, French or German.
The guided city tours can be undertaken by foot, by bike, with your own bus or by tramway. Some of the tours offered include: Traces of Jewish heritage in Strasbourg with the Mikvah; Figures: Goethe, A. Schweitzer, Gutenberg, famous women; City Center: Maison Kammerzell, Petite-France, etc; Cathedral: astronomical clock, crypt, stained glass windows, etc.; and Architecture: Gothic, Renaissance, French building from 18th Century, Art Nouveau, Art Deco

Avraham

Avraham is a ‘Tzabar’ (a native-born Israeli), a High-Technology professional, an avid traveler, a certified Tour Guide in Hebrew and English, and has a wealth of experience guiding and operating tours in Israel for both groups and individuals. AvrahamTours provides an exciting and enjoyable, moving and enriching experience, thanks to Avraham’s extensive knowledge on the subject. A love of the country and its people is a vital ingredient for a successful tour and Avraham has both. He knows Israel, her fascinating history and her many charming secrets.

Israel offers many beautiful sightseeing sites to visitors and travelers. You can find a lot of holiness, glory and fun when you come and visit Israel. You can enjoy Israel by touring its historical and archeological sites and routes, combined with hiking and tracking in Israel’s beautiful nature.

Old and New Jerusalem Full-Day Tour Operated by Bein Harim Ltd

Take in the panoramic views of Jerusalem from the top of Mount Scopus. Then, travel down the mount passing the Biblical Garden of Gethsemane, Church of All Nations, and Kidron Valley that holds monumental Jewish tombs. In the Jewish Quarter, we see the Cardo; the Byzantine-era main street of Jerusalem. We stop at the sacred Western Wall to place a prayer note between the ancient stones of the wall. The tour follows part of the Via Dolorosa to the stunning Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Here, we see the site of Christ’s crucifixion and his burial tomb. After a lunch break and walk through the Old City bazaar we travel to new Jerusalem. Driving through the modern city we reach Yad VaShem Holocaust Museum. The museum’s exhibits include authentic artifacts, original documents, photos, and video testimonials of Holocaust survivors. Hotel pick-up is additionally offered and available to anyone on the tour.

Listing Language: French