Great Synagogue (Gaziantep)
The Gaziantep Synagogue , also known as the Great Synagogue of Gaziantep ( Buyuk Gaziantep Sinagoğu in Turkish ), is an abandoned Sephardic Synagogue of Orthodox Judaism located in Gaziantep , eastern Turkey .
The Great Synagogue was closed after the last remaining members of Gaziantep's Jewish community left the city in the 1970s, leaving the synagogue to deteriorate. There was only one other synagogue in the city. Thanks to the cooperation of the Turkish Jewish Community and the Turkish government, the Great Synagogue of Gaziantep was restored in 2012.
The Gaziantep Great Synagogue has two floors and could accommodate several hundred believers. The exact date of its construction is unknown. The stone plinths of the octagonal bima in the middle of the synagogue and, barely recognizable, the last remnants of the wooden canopy or the dome with railing are still there. The semi-square stone hechal is decorated with stone slabs and painted Hebrew text. The women's gallery lines both sides and was placed within three stone arches; part of the wooden railing has survived.
Web links
- Center Jewish History - Gaziantep Synagogue
Individual evidence
- ↑ Joel A. Zack, The Historic Synagogues of Turkey , American Sephardi Foundation, New York 2008, pp. 117, 179-181.
Coordinates: 37 ° 3 '51 " N , 37 ° 22' 53.9" E