Cairo’s Ben Ezra Synagogue
Egypt has many interesting places to visit, like the Ben Ezra Synagogue. Every city in Egypt is known for something. Egypt’s ancient people lived in most of the cities. Cairo is the most well-known city in Egypt because it is the capital and a place where people from many different cultures live and visit.
There are a lot of churches and mosques in Cairo, but not as many synagogues. After the Jews were kicked out of Spain, they started to move to Egypt. After the Suez Canal opened, there were more business opportunities, so more Jews moved there.
In the 1950s, Egypt began to send Jews away. So, there aren’t many synagogues in Egypt, but the Ben Ezra Synagogue is the most well-known one. This Synagogue is one of the biggest and oldest in Cairo.
How Ben Ezra Synagogue came to be
The Synagogue used to be a Christian church, but when the Muslim rulers in the dynasty of Ahmed Ibn Tulun raised the annual taxes because of it, Abraham Ibn Ezra of Jerusalem bought the church for 20,000 dinars in 882. From that point on, the church became a synagogue for Jews.
In 1012, during the reign of Al-Hakim bi-Amr Al-lah, the Synagogue was destroyed. In 1039 and 1041, not much was changed about how it looked before. In 1890, the Gueniza was found. It is a collection of more than 100,000 manuscripts and biblical and liturgical texts in Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic, and Persian. It was one of the most important reconstructions because it was true to the original design. People call these manuscripts “the Guernica of El Cario,” and they were later moved to other libraries.
The Synagogue of Ben Ezra Is Called
It used to be called “the Church of El-Shamien” before it became a synagogue. It was called “the Israelite Synagogue or the House of Meeting of the Israelites” before it became a synagogue. After it was fixed up in 1039 and 1041, it became known as the “Synagogue of the Prophet Elijah.”
How the Ben Ezra Synagogue Was Built
It was built in Fustat, which is in Old Cairo. Behind the Hanging Church is where it is. It looks like a Turkish basilica. It has 3 parts, with the largest one in the middle. It has two floors: the one on top is for women, and the one on the bottom is for men. In the middle of the lower floor is a marble bimbo, where the altar for reading the Torah is set up.
There are capitals on the marble pillars that are beautifully carved. This synagogue’s decorations are based on Egyptian art as well as some Byzantine, Islamic, and Christian styles. In the middle of the ceiling is a big Star of David that is surrounded by arabesques from the Ottoman Empire.
About the Ben Ezra Synagogue
The Synagogue site has a long and interesting past. It was said that the box with Baby Moses was found there. It was also said that Prophet Moses chose this spot to pray or that Prophet Jeremiah built a synagogue, which the Romans then destroyed so they could build their Babylonian fortress. So, it was a synagogue, and after it was destroyed, an Archangel Michael-dedicated church was built on the site. Later, it was turned back into a synagogue.
Egypt via travel: Your Dream Vacation
The Ben Ezra Synagogue is one of the most important and well-known places to visit in Cairo. It is also one of the largest attractions there. So, check out our Egypt travel packages or Nile cruises and pick the one that works best for you. Then, you can visit other interesting places in Egypt, which is known as “the cradle of civilization,” like Luxor, Aswan, and Hurghada.
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