Our journey takes us further into the north of Bessarabia – now up to Soroca. We visited the Jewish cemetery, were welcomed in the synagogue and saw the famous “Gypsy palaces”.

From Rezina we went to Soroca and were finally glad to be in a place with restaurants, shops and cafes again. In Soroca you get an idea of ​​how the former Shtelt of the region once looked like – in the streets old storey shops line up as they did in the past.

Before we were looking for a hotel, we stopped at the Jewish cemetery. An observation repeats that we already made several times before in Moldova: The post-war part of the cemetery is in good condition, while the old part is overgrown. But in Soroca the cleaning work is in full swing – the piles of wood and branches are just waiting to be taken away.

In front of our hotel we met Semen Weksler, an activist of the local Jewish community. Semen took us to the synagogue of Soroca and made sure that it was opened for us. The Jewish community operates a community center there, a place for festivities and get-togethers. Thank you Semen, for your hospitality!

The most famous attraction of Soroca are the “Gypsy palaces”. On our way from the Jewish cemetery back to the town’s center, we could see them. They form a district of oversized villas – many of them left unfinished. Who said size does not matter?

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