RHONE & PROVENCE RIVER CRUISE
Land Tours Included In Your All-Inclusive River Cruise Holiday!
Arles - Avignon - Cavaillon - Carpentras - L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue - Viviers
Set just above the Mediterranean, Provence is appreciated throughout the world for its lifestyle and its striking sun-drenched beauty. The azure-blue skies, natural formations, ancient heritage, chirping cicadas, lavender fields, and hilltop villages make it a holiday destination out of which dreams are made.
Jewish Provence: To the French, Provence evokes the books of Marcel Pagnol, the Occitan language, and the paintings of Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Cézanne. But it is also rich in Jewish history. Jews lived in this part of southern France in comparative peace until they were expelled in the 14th century, when the region was united with the Kingdom of France. These banished Jews found refuge in the lands ruled by the Popes of Avignon — today’s Department of the Vaucluse – in the cities of Avignon, Carpentras, l’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, and Cavaillon. The cities became known throughout the Jewish world as the Arba Kehillot, the four communities, and the Jews who lived therein became known as des Juifs du Pape (the Pope’s Jews). The Jews of the Arba Kehillot spoke a Judeo-Provencal dialect known as shuadit and developed traditions very different from those in Jewish communities in other parts of Europe.
Come along with us as we explore the Arba Kehilot and the wonders of this region for a unique, educational and relaxing holiday down the Rhone!
Cavaillon
At the end of the 14th century the Jewish communities, expelled from the French kingdom, took refuge in the Comtat Venaissin, an independent state belonging to the Avignon papacy from the 13th to the 18th century. Known as the Pope's Jews by the local population, they were dependent upon the Pope for their protection. Protection was a relative term though and Jews were forced to live in confined areas just as they were in the rest of Europe. In Cavaillon this consisted of just a few small streets – a carriero (from Portuguese) – that were closed off at night.
Synagogue: The 18th century Italianate building, which replaced an earlier one from the 15th century is no longer in use as a synagogue, but as the Judeo-Comtadin Museum it is a French national monument and attracts thousands of visitors every year.
Excluded from the rest of society, the carrière organized itself. It had its rules and its leader. Life revolved around the synagogue, the place where prayers, education and meetings took place.
Jewish men were required to wear a yellow hat when they went out, and Jews were subject to special taxes. In addition, they were forced to listen to Christian sermons calling on them to convert. Of course only professions authorized by the Pope were open to them, and the Jews were forced into trades such as clothing and moneylending.
The carrières were abolished after the French Revolution, and in the early 19th century, under Napoleon Bonaparte ghetto walls throughout Europe were brought down at last.
Carpentras
Carpentras was the capital of the Comtat Venaissin County in the Middle Ages. It owes its originality to the fact that it was part of the Holy Chair from the 13th to the 18th century and to the former presence of the "Pope's Jews", who found shelter in the town. The historic quarter harbors the 12th-century ramparts and Episcopal buildings, including the Episcopal Palace, Hôtel-Dieu, and ancient Jewish quarter.
Begun in 1367, the Carpentras synagogue is one of the oldest synagogues in France. It is a living testimony to the presence of the Jewish communities that were underPapal protection after one of the many expulsions from Kingdom of France. On the lower level of the building is a mikvah and a matzo bakery. The synagogue went through a full restoration in 1954.
Though still confined to a carriere, by the 18th Century the community’s economic situation had improved. The French Revolution brought down the walls of carriere and liberated the Jews of Provence.
L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue
It Montparnasse Cemetery: On a small island in the clear, shallow river Sorgue is all that is left of the medieval Jewish community.. This was one of the four cities in which Jews were permitted to live under the auspices of the Popes of Avignon. In 1720 the Pope permitted Jews to add the in silk and wool trade to the list of permitted occupations. The economy of l'Isle sur la Sorgue started to boom and some 120 of the 200 silk works were owned by Jews. Up until the French revolution, a rich Jewish cultural life was present in the town, but after the French Revolution the Jewish population was partially absorbed or left the country. Today only some street names (Place de la Juiverie) and the Jewish cemetery on the outskirts of the town remain. Today L’Isle-sur-la’Sorgue is famous as an antique market, which takes place a few days each week.
Avignon
One of the area’s cultural jewels, Avignon is an art and museum town. It is of course also famous in the French children’s song about the Saint- Bénezet Bridge. Seat of the papacy from 1309-1377 because of a conflict between the Kingdom of France and the Papacy, the Pope's Palace is now as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Medieval streets and magnificent mansions are part of the city’s landscape and you will have so many museums from which to choose it will be difficult to decide which ones to see first.
Avignon stands high above the immense plains of the Rhône River and is the strategic point of the whole valley. From the top of the city’s ramparts you can easily understand why this was chosen as the site of a fort:
The Jewish Quarter was originally northwest of the Place du Palais. In 1221, the Jewish community was relocated to an enclosed quarter in the parish of Saint-Pierre, around the Place Jerusalem. The ghetto or carriere as they are known in this part of the world, was closed off by three gates, only one of which, of which only one, the Porte Calandre, remains.
The Synagogue was built n 1221. The French Revolution ended the ghetto regulations and most of the houses were torn down in the 19th century. Rebuilt between 1765 and 176, it was destroyed by a fire in 1845 and rebuilt in 1848 and today is still used by the Avignon Jewish community. .
Arles
immortalized in the paintings of Vincent Van Gogh, Arles sits on both banks of the Rhône River. The town is replete with many Roman-era buildings and features such as the Arena, the Roman Theatre, and the Roman Baths. The town is also well-known for its festivals and fairs and is one of the few places in France where one can see bullfighting.
Arles’ over 300 days of sunshine a year have drawn artists for centuries. Picasso and Cezanne painted here, and of course the paintings of Van Gogh created some of his most famous works in the fields surrounding the town.
The musee d’ Arles et de la Provence Antiques has some medieval tombstones with Hebrew inscriptions and a 4th century carved burial stone depicting Abraham about to slay Isaac. The Musee Arlaten also has items of Jewish interest including Provencal ritual objects, and a pocket Torah.
Viviers
Without Visiting Viviers is like stepping back in time to the middle ages. The lower town housed tradesman and artisans, and the upper or religious town that was the seat of a bishops. The upper walled town is a warren of narrow cobbled streets with stone houses, a cathedral, and a castle terrace that offers spectacular views of the rooftops and river below.