The Crete Reunion, June 2009
Here we are, just under sixty of us on the harbour-side in Herakleion, Crete. We have turned up for the sixth Shealtiel reunion. For all that this was the smallest reunion in fifteen years—largely cut down by the current recession, which discouraged many—the small size brought forth some unexpected benefits, in particular an intimacy which enabled old friends to catch up without delay and new ones to be made on the spot.
So, first of all hats off to our photographers, Offer and Ran Grassiani, identical twins whose energetic photography punctuated our every experience and whose witty costumes were not identical, but just close enough to fool us. This prompted the question I have always wanted to ask identical twins—do you consult first thing in the morning? Answer: Yes. You can find their work on the web, by clicking here for Offer’s photos and here for Ran’s photos.
Hats off too to Fran London with a website dedicated to her reunion trip; plus two albums on the web—one of the family, which you can reach by clicking her photo on the right; and another of the delicious Cretan dishes and produce we enjoyed during our stay, which you can see by clicking here.

Arrival—Wednesday 24 June
.		On Wednesday 24 June, we made our own way to the Hotel Astoria in Herakleion. Felicity and I had an easy arrival—direct from London—though as you will see this was unlike some who had to change at Athens. Philippe and his crew had prepared for our arrival with a reception party and goody-bags, principally including the handsome pins shown on the left. We soon sprawled out in the bar in the customary informality suggested by the group below
	At 5.30, Philippe and Florence set out the programme they had prepared for us. Beatrice then astonished us--well me at least. I had sneaked a look at the PowerPoint file she loaded and I saw that it was over 120 slides. I figured we would be there till midnight. Far from it. She rattled through her presentation on Cretan history in an hour or so. Please click here for it in English; and here for it in French. You can see her in full flow below.
At this point, we had intended to hear from Moshe about the history of the family in Crete, but as the time for his talk approached he resolutely failed to appear. Beatrice’s presentation was coming to an end amid the increasingly audible sounds of tummies grumbling for lack of food. Then the door opened and Moshe and Gila appeared, the former caught in the picture above at the moment of arrival. Poor them, caught in transit hell at Athens airport for nearly twenty-four hours. Philippe wisely decided to defer Moshe’s talk till the following day and we prepared for the first of our Cretan feasts, the flavour of which is captured by the picture on the right.

Thursday 25 June—Herakleion
After a healthy Cretan breakfast (stick around for more on this theme), the family assembled to hear more about the family’s association with the island. Philippe read out an email from Victor in New York describing how his son found the Haggadah in the British Museum and Moshe spoke about the family in Crete (please click here for Moshe’s remarks). We then made our way to the Historical Museum of Crete, where we were greeted by Alexis Kalokerinos, the museum’s director, to whom Philippe presented a facsimile of the Haggadah. Emmanouel Alexakis the deputy Mayor of Herakleion greeted the family and explained how his wife’s studies had made him aware of the Jewish presence in Crete. Then Constantinos Mamalakis, the curator of the museum’s ww2 collection, spoke of the fate of Crete’s Jews at that time (please click here for his speech) and Florence presented him with a package of the “Shealtiel Treasure”, that is souvenirs of all our reunions.
Naturally our tour of the museum focussed on the depiction in stone of the family’s coat of arms, originally erected above the door way to the synagogue in Herakleion in the 1500s.
	We had a delicious lunch (more Cretan food—wait for it…) at the Koynies Restaurant, near the Museum, and took the afternoon off, assembling at 5.00 for a walking tour, led by Florence. And that evening yet more delicious Cretan food at the hotel.

Friday 26 June—Herakleion to Chania
And so onto the bus by nine a.m., with packed bags and sunny smiles. Magnificent scenery, scary roads and extraordinary Graeco-Roman remains at Gortys and Minoan ruins at Phaestos
At 6.00 p.m., we arrived at the Hotel Kydon in Chania, with thirty minutes to freshen up before our visit to the miraculously restored Etz Hayim Synagogue
There, the charismatic former museum director, Nikos Stavroulakis, presided over the Kabbalat Shabbat. Then he spoke to us of his prolonged and, as we saw before us ultimately successful, campaign to restore the synagogue after its wartime destruction. He spoke of its culmination: after he eventually reopened the synagogue, the Chief Rabbi of Greece told him, “So you’ve got yourself another museum, Nikos”. “That’s not why I did this” he replied. “What must I do to make it a working synagogue?” “Pray” said the Chief Rabbi. And so, ever since, he has. That evening, we swapped old photos over our meal at the Myrobolos restaurant.
Saturday 27 June 2009—Chania
	The following morning, we finally got to the Cretan diet—not the eating of it, but its medical benefits. Aviva (that’s Doctor Aviva to you—please click here for her remarks in English; and here for them in French) spoke of the path-breaking research from the fifties and thereafter which established the benefits of Mediterranean food. Moshe then spoke of the Decrees—Takanot—of Chania, which documented the leading position of our family there in the 1500s (please click here for his presentation).
After several free hours, during which Felicity and I explored Chania’s beautiful streets and harbour, we assembled for a guided tour and then supper at Zeppos on the quayside, watching the sun set and evening come in over the bay.
Then back to the hotel for one of most magical of our evenings as the talents of the family cobbled together a scratch concert, played and sung by (left to right) Anita Duc (seated), Ros Lewis, Dave Lewis and Laurence Saltiel. Here Ros and Laurence are shown extemporising to Bye bye Blackbird.
Sunday 28 June 2009—Chania
Up early again for the bus—off to the Mycenaean and Venetian centre of Rethymnon; and the Arcadi Monastery, whose story of resistance to the Turks evokes the story of Masada (as Shmuelik Grassiani reminded us); with lunch at the mountain town of Margaritas.
What with the early start, the midday sun at the monastery and one or two missed turns during the bus trip, it was a long day. So much so that many of us were tired on the way back and took to our beds for a couple of hours. Thanks heavens we did for the evening was a wonderful and moving occasion. Our reason for being in Crete at just this time was to join in the annual ceremony to remember the Jews deported from Crete. We read out their names in the synagogue and lit candles for them in the ante-room next door. Then we joined with Nikos and his guest of honour, H.E. Ali Yahya, the Israeli Ambassador to Greece (seen below with Philippe), for our last Reunion dinner at the adjacent Konaki restaurant.
Monday 29 June 2009—Chania
				After breakfast, the organisers offered some souvenirs of past reunions (courtesy Moshe). We then met for the Triennial General Meeting of the International Association of the Family. There we settled on an American reunion for 2012 and commissioned half a dozen new volunteers (please click here for the full minutes); then to our farewell lunch. Personal postscript; that afternoon, Flic and I minibussed back to Herakleion with Philippe and Béatrice. Before we flew out the following day, I did my customary duty by her—in this instance with a Greek key bracelet, a fitting addition to her souvenirs of our reunions.
Memories of the reunion

Memories of the reunion