Join the Museum and Our Travel Circle for a virtual walking tour of Istanbul, which is home to the vast majority of Turkey’s 26,000 Jewish citizens. Istanbul’s Jewish community today is a fraction of its size during Ottoman rule in the 16th and 17th centuries, when it was one of the world’s most important Jewish centers. Unlike Jews in much of Europe, Istanbul’s 500,000 Jews were permitted to work in all professions and could enter the Ottoman court. They excelled in commerce and were particularly important leaders in medicine. Remains from that time can still be seen in the Balat area, along the Golden Horn, and in the Galata district in Beyoğlu—the centers of Istanbul’s Jewish life. Our tour guide, Safak, will take us on a journey through time and into the modern day life of Jews in Istanbul.