Next Stop Chalkida!

Waking up early in Athens our group departed for Chalkida, capital of the island of Evia, a short 1- 1.5 hours from Athens. To give a little back ground: Chalkida's historic synagogue was rebuilt in 1846 at the spot of the previous one, which was destroyed by fire. The community’s cemetery has been in use for centuries and contains tombstones dating from the 15th century. In the beginning of WW II, the first Greek officer to die in battle at the Greek-Italian front was one of the Jewish community’s own, Mordechai Frizis. Of the community’s 327 members only 22 perished in the Holocaust, as the rest were hidden and assisted by their Christian neighbors. The town Metropolite (the local head of the Greek Orthodox Church) hid all the holy items of the Synagogue in his church. Today the community, although small, is active and fully integrated in the financial and social life of the town.

When Kivunim first arrived we went right to visit the synagogue of Chalkida. Aswell, we got to meet with the president and care taker of the Jewish community (their picture is below). What I found upon arrival were beautiful Grecian orange trees which formed a canopy over the synagogues courtyard. To the pleasure of our group all 51 of us were told that we could take an orange off the tree. As I went around searching for the perfect orange I saw that this courtyard was the place where children played during services as well as the communal gather place after and before services. Additionally, after finding that perfect orange I have to say it is one of the best I have ever had in my life!





After meeting with the president of the Jewish community Kivunim went to visit the oldest Jewish cemetery in Greece which contains tombstones of great scholars and rabbis dating back to the Ottoman period (15th
century). In its courtyard lies a monument dedicated to Colonel Frizis. The walk over was very lovely because it allowed us to really see Greek life and (for me anyway) to stop judging Greece by Athens and instead seeing it as it's beautiful countryside. One of my favorite parts about the walk to the cemetery was passing by the hanging octopus tentacles that many residents came to buy as part of there dinner. One of my friends, didn't happen to see tentacles until she walked head first into them. It was a GREAT laugh.


After visiting the cemetery the group ate a delicious lunch of spanakopita and got ready for our long bus ride towards Delphi, the home of Apollo, the Sun God. On our way I saw this beautiful image of the sun peaking through the clouds. Many of us joked that apollo was watching us.