El Call Neighborhood

The El Call neighborhood located just behind the old city walls of Barcelona is also referred to as the old Jewish quarter of Barcelona.  it was originally inhabited by the Jews when many of them fled Jerusalem because of prosecution and found their way to Barcelona.  

The Jewish people that fled over here were typically educated folk and were able to get good jobs because of this.  El Call is located directly behind El Catedral and Placa Sant Jaume.  It was very typical to see very detailed masonry work in the old Jewish quarter of El Call and walkways linking what were once very nice old houses like the one seen below are still amazing showcases of the true talents possessed by many skilled workers of this time.  

Many of the out streets of El Call have wide and tall roads for horse carriage to pass through however the deeper you get into the neighborhood the narrower the roads become and in many areas it would be impossible to get a horse carriage through.  In fact El Call means alleyway and it is justly named so because of the maze like roads that create this densely packed neighborhood.  

In many roads in the Jewish Quarter one can literally touch both sides of the street when they elongate their arms.  One of the oldest synagogues in Europe is located within the Jewish Quarter and it is still visitable today.  It has held many different purposes over the years but has currently been restored and is know an active museum that one can visit for a small price.  It is no longer an active synagogue but it is still used for festive purposes at times.  It is not uncommon to stumble across very good stores selling a variety of handmade quality products in the El Call neighborhood, both in present and past times.

 Also many small but delicious bars and restaurants can also be found in the neighborhood.  However you may want to write down the directions to the ones you like because in this neighborhood many of the streets look the same because of their tendency to be so tightly condensed.

 If one takes the proper turns within this maze of narrow streets it is likely that you will stumble across a placa that will appear very little but that holds a lot of character for its size.  

Often one can find children playing soccer or lovers reminiscing in this mysterious placa in the heart of the Jewish Quarter.