Today, Moldova is still home to a few thousand Jews. Historically, this land was known as Bessarabia, and Jews were already settled here before the 16th century. Jewish merchants exported kosher wines from the Greek islands and horses from the Ottoman Empire to Poland via Bessarabia. Jews fled to Bessarabia to escape Khmelnitsky's uprising, and in the 19th century some famous Chassidic dynasties were established
here.

During the tour we will visit several typical Jewish towns of Bessarabia. We will also walk along the streets of Kishinev (today's Chișinău). Once a city with at least 50,000 Jews (more than 40% of the city's population), Kishinev is mainly known in Jewish history for its terrible and devastating pogrom of 1903.

We will speak about the Jews of Kishinev, the self-defence Jewish squads, Kishinev's synagogues, Jewish political and intellectual leaders, and everyday Jewish life.

We will look at the past and present and as well as discuss the future of Kishinev's Jewish community.