ABSTRACT
In the twelfth century Jews seem to be over-represented among those who looked for help from the travel services. The Jewish travellers' long absences from home caused tensions within their families. If Jews wished to worship at their own holy shrines they had, to turn their eyes to the Middle East and travel beyond the eastern part of the Mediterranean. Benjamin of Tudela illustrates the fact that they were prepared to undertake such trips. This chapter also presents the account of Petachia of Regensburg. The holy graves that were indicated to Samuel ben Ali, the famous head of the Academy of Baghdad, by the Jewish residents of the localities were for the most part those of Biblical figures and Talmudic scholars of the fourth and fifth centuries. To be aware ahead of time of the size of the Jewish communities was therefore of paramount importance. Hospitality was an aspect of social behavior among Jews of which they were very proud.
