Full Day Private Istanbul Jewish Heritage Tour

Learn more about Jewish community that has been living here in Anatolia for more than 2,400 years with our Full Day Heritage Tour. In the later Middle Ages, Ashkenazi Jews migrating to the Byzantine Empire and Ottoman Empire supplemented the original Jewish population of Asia Minor. At the end of the 15th century, a large number of Sephardic Jews fleeing persecution in Spain and Portugal settled in Asia Minor on the invitation of the Ottoman Empire. Despite emigration during the 20th century, modern day Turkey continues a Jewish population. The present size of the Jewish Community is estimated at around 26,000 according to the Jewish Virtual Library. The vast majority live in Istanbul, with a community of about 2,500 in Izmir and other smaller groups located in the rest of Turkey.