Walk of discovery

The afternoon and evening walk led to some interesting discoveries. The first was Europe’s oldest synagogue. The Jews were expelled from Spain by Queen Isabella in 1492. It is known as the decree of Al Alhambra because it was in that famous landmark building in Granada that the decree was made. The decree was issued on 1st August that year. Colombus was going to leave for his voyage of discovery from the port of Cadiz on 2nd of August but there were so many Jews in the port rushing to escape Spain that he had to delay leaving till 3rd August. He mentions this in the first page of his record of the voyage.

The synagogue’s location was lost and only discovered again in 1997 after a study of the records of Jewish tax collectors from the 14th century. The synagogue had been converted to various other uses and its location lost. But the building dates back the 13th century and the foundations back to Roman times.

The street and building kinks so that the two exterior windows face Jerusalem.Read more