Little Jerusalem: Jewish Quarter of Rhodes

Jewish Quarter of Rhodes Old Town, 16th-century Shalom Synagogue and museum, Jewish Martyrs’ Square, city trading square and Jewish role in the island’s economy, Mandraki Port, and the formation of the State of Israel.

Jewish Quarter of Rhodes Old Town (La Juderia), Shalom Synagogue and Jewish Museum (16th century), Rabbis’ school, Al Hadef Alley, Jewish merchants’ trading galleries, Jewish Martyrs’ Square, Mandraki Port, Jewish heritage of Rhodes and the road to the State of Israel.

This Jewish Quarter walking tour in Rhodes reveals one of the most important and moving chapters in the island’s history. For more than two thousand years, Rhodes has been shaped by its multicultural population. As a major port of the Eastern Mediterranean, the island attracted Jewish settlers as early as the 2nd century BCE, with references found in the Book of Maccabees. For over 600 years, the Jewish community lived in the eastern part of the Medieval Old Town, an area known as La Juderia, forming a vibrant center of trade, culture, and education.

During this guided walking tour of the Jewish Quarter of Rhodes, we stroll through narrow streets where daily life once unfolded around synagogues, schools, and family homes. We visit the former Rabbis’ school, learn about the historical banking system of Rhodes, and walk along Al Hadef Alley, passing galleries and shops once owned by wealthy Jewish merchants who played a key role in the island’s economy.

A highlight of the tour is a visit to the Shalom Synagogue, the oldest functioning synagogue in Greece, built in the 16th century. Inside the synagogue museum, you will discover the history of the Rhodian Jewish diaspora over the last two centuries, personal stories of families, traditions, and community life that survived dramatic historical changes.

The tour also explores the fate of the Jewish community during the rule of the Knights of St. John and later under Suleiman the Magnificent, showing how political shifts shaped everyday life. At Jewish Martyrs’ Square, we pay tribute to the victims of Nazi persecution, remembering the tragic events of World War II. The walk then continues toward modern Rhodes and Mandraki Port, where the story concludes with the historical and legal path that led to the creation of the State of Israel, ending the tour on a meaningful and hopeful note.

Tour Details:
Duration: 2 hours;
Type of tour: Walking;
Meeting point: Church of Saint Panteleimon;
What to bring: Comfortable shoes, hat, water.