Dair al-Qamar synagogue
The Deir el-Qamar Synagogue ( Hebrew בית הכנסת דיר אל-קמר, Arabic كنيس دير القمر) is a historical synagogue in Deir el-Qamar , built from 1609, and thus the oldest preserved in the Lebanon mountain .
The synagogue, which was completed in 1638, was built for the Jewish community , some of whose members were part of the entourage of the Druze- Emir Fachr ad-Dīn II . Between 1860 and 1900 the synagogue was closed because the Jews had to leave the place. When the future Israeli President Yitzchak Ben Zwi visited the Deir el-Qamar synagogue in 1928, he described it as "the largest in Syria". When Israel intervened in the Lebanese civil war and the occupation of southern Lebanon , the wedding of an officer was celebrated here.
The Deir el-Qamar synagogue had room for 500 people. Although the building is in relatively good condition, all religious cult symbols have disappeared. For security reasons, the synagogue is closed and entrusted to the French cultural center des Chouf under the care of the Direction Générale des Antiquités .
Web links
- Association of Lebanese Jews in Canada ( Memento of March 11, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- Lebanese-Jewish community project
Coordinates: 33 ° 41 ′ 52.4 " N , 35 ° 33 ′ 47.5" E