February 17th, 2010 
Sheila Simkin None of us had ever heard of the Karaites/Karaimes (a people who speak the Turkic language) before let alone knew that Trakai is inhabited by these people who settled here at the turn of 14th and 15th centuries. Lithuanian Grand Duke Vytautas brought a number of Karaite families from the Crimea to use as guards and granted them privileges. A small community remains in Trakai that has preserved its language, customs and houses with three windows (one for God, one for the family, and one for Grand Duke Vytautas).
There is a small Karaite Ethnological Museum (called Karaimu Etnografina Paroda) on the main street of Trakai with a small fee to enter and additional fees to use camera or camcorder. The heavyset woman in charge was a character. I don’t know if she was a Karaite or not but we’d ask a question, she’d answer in Lithuanian, and when we didn’t understand, throw her hands up in the air and say…“Mamma Mia.”
A very big surprise to find out the Karaites (“Followers of the Bible”) were a Jewish sect or what I would call “Reformed Jews.” Their language has been Hebrew, Russian, and the Turkic Karaime language. There was also a Kenesa (Temple) on the same street – closed, naturally. It wasn’t until we saw the bibles in Hebrew along with other Jewish liturgical items that this fact dawned on us because the majority of the exhibits appeared Turkish. Hookahs, Turkish dress (all in the video below…) while other articles looked Russian…View image.
There are only a few hundred Karaites left besides those in Trakai. Approximately 130 Karaims in Vilnius, 150 in Poland, and thirty in Panevezys, Lithuania. Their food is also interesting revealing Eastern roots. Shashlik – made of lamb, beef or veal, Kybynlar – nothing more then a big “pasty” or meat pie, and Krupnik – a national drink. Krupnik is made from roots and oriental spices that every housewife makes herself. I just liked the name, “Krupnik.”
Done exploring Trakai with still not enough time to really browse the shops or even sample Krupnik or Kybynlar. It was time to leave for Vilnius.
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Thank you for the article on the Karaites of Lithuania but if I could make a few correction. Yes the number of Lithuanian Karaites is small but they were only a small sect of the main population anyway which was centred in the Crimea and Galicia. I happen to be from the Galicz population. Currently there are about 30,000 of us worldwide with the main centre in Ramla, Israel. Our origins officially began in 769 AD when Anan ben David set down the structure of our religion but we were established long before that in our religious faith. Therefore referring to us as Reform Jews is somewhat insulting. Since was were offshoots of Zakokites and Boethains, we actually predated Rabbinical Judaism. So probably more correctly we are the original Judaism and we reject the Talmud as it was a creation of the rabbis and in numerous instances in conflict with the Torah (Old Testament).
Thanks for your very interesting comments on the article. If you don’t mind, I’d like to include it within the article itself. As many questions I ask of guides along with surfing the Internet, it is almost impossible to get complete information on almost any subject. Many “Lost in the Translation” moments while traveling. I really appreciate the time taken to both comment and visit Travels With Sheila. Thanks so much. Best regards, Sheila