Camel fairs, elephant & tribal festivals celebrated year round
During the religious persecutions in the time of King Antiochus 2200 years ago, some Jews escaped and were shipwrecked off the coast of Mumbai. The few survivors who came ashore kept the faith and lived in interior villages. They were known as the Bene Israel or "Sabbath oil pressers". The second Jewish community of India is called Cochini Jews who arrived at different times and settled in South India. This extensive tour of India combines the highlights of cultural India, historical synagogues dating From 18th - 20th centuries and the Jewish settlements.
Tour Old and New Delhi, the Taj Mahal in Agra and the ancient Mughal capital at Fatehpur Sikri. Ride on elephants to stunning Amber Fort in the pink city of Jaipur. Explore Udaipur's palace museum, the best in northern India, and relax on a sunset boat ride on peaceful Lake Pichola. After touring the sites of Mumbai, attend Shabbat services at the Fort Synagogue and enjoy a kosher dinner arranged by the only Jewish school in India. Meet distinguished members of the Sephardic Baghdadi community and learn about Jewish life in British Colonial India. Tour the textile museum, a synagogue and some of the buildings designed by Charles Corea. In the seaside city of Cochin, visit the local Jewish community and Pardesi Synagogue, one of the oldest in the world! Hold the original copper plates that established a Jewish Kingdom in the 4th century. Enjoy a rapturous performance of the Kathakali classical dance. Experience rural river life in the 'backwaters' of Kerala on a deluxe rice barge. Marvel at the rock cut sculptures at the shore temples in Mahabalipuram and delve into the silk shops at the old center of Kanchipuram.
