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On the outside, Barcelona, put it best when the building is modest in ap- he said, "Yes, we want pearance but inside you will be Jews to come here to increase our impressed with the Sephardic tourism business. But we also Museum. It was remodeled in want to fill in a chapter of our 1992 and today houses a won- country's history that has had an derful collection of Judaica. important element missing from The museum also has an out- it for over 500 years." door courtyard which contains In 1492, the Spanish monarchs a collection of gravestones from Ferdinand and Isabella expelled various Jewish communities in the country's entire Jewish pop- pre-1492 Spain. The Sephardic ulation. It was a terrible blow to Synagogue was converted to a what was for hundreds of years church after the Jews were ex- a thriving and prosperous pelled. But you can see where the Sephardic Jewish community. altar was, and you can view the Girona has an archaeological women's gallery. There is a 10- museum where you can see Jew- minute video in various lan- ish gravestones and a wonderful guages on the history of the library where you 1E L; can examine a fasci- nating collection of papers in Hebrew that describe legal and business trans- actions that date back to the 13th cen- tury. The library is in the Nachmanides Center in Girona. A plan has been developed to erect a Catalan Museum of Jewish Culture and a Nachmanides In stitute of Studies in A sign outside the 12th century synagogue in Toledo. the town. The insti- tute will have a ful- ly staffed tourist information building. bureau, a lecture/concert hall for The older of the two houses of Sephardic cultural programs, a worship was originally known as vegetarian restaurant and cafe, the Great Synagogue. It was built and a bookstore. The latter will in the 13th century. Built by a carry a guidebook which will in- Moorish architect, the synagogue clude a map of modern Spain but has an interior made up of a pro- show the towns and cities where cession of huge pillars and arch- Jews lived in the pre-1492 era. es all painted stark white. This One small town near Girona synagogue was also converted to that I visited, Besalu, in 1964 un- a church after the Jews were covered and restored a marvelous forced out. At one time, the build- mikvah that dates back to the ing was used to house Napoleon's 13th century. The mikvah mea- horses. sures about 15 x 15 feet. Records Today, the sign outside the show that more than 200 Jews synagogue reads "Santa Maria lived in Besalu in the Middle La Blanca National Monument Ages. and 12th Century Old Syna- A major Jewish center to visit gogue." in Spain is the city of Toledo, with The city of Segovia, about 65 its charming cobblestone streets miles from Madrid, was another and old architecture. The city is major Jewish center in medieval about 50 miles from Madrid. times. There were two Jewish At its height, the Jewish com- quarters and five synagogues. To- munity of Toledo was one of the day the town has the only pre- largest and most influential in served Jewish cemetery in Spain. the country. In the 12th century, You can visit the synagogue, there were more than 12,000 which is at the entrance of the Jews and 10 synagogues in the town's old Jewish district, and city. Still standing today are two the main synagogue, where the wonderfully restored synagogues. old and new districts join. One is called the Sephardic The main Jewish site in Synagogue. It was built in the Segovia is the Hebrew cemetery. 13th century by Samuel ha-Levi, It is a tough, 30-minute climb up (--' 414111ANC MOMIMRTO NICIOML ANTIGUA SINAGOG4 . DEL sit; i XII. XIITENTURY OLD SYNAGOGLE. ,_\ _/