The Ashkenazi Synagogue ( tr, Aşkenazi Sinagogu) is an

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

located near the

Galata Tower The Galata Tower ( tr, Galata Kulesi), officially the Galata Kulesi Museum ( tr, Galata Kulesi Müzesi), is an old Genoese tower in the Galata part of the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, Turkey. Built as a watchtower at the highest point of the ( ...

Karaköy Karaköy (), the modern name for the old Galata, is a commercial quarter in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, Turkey, located at the northern part of the Golden Horn mouth on the European side of Bosphorus. Karaköy is one of the oldest an ...

neighborhood of

Beyoğlu Beyoğlu (, ota, بك‌اوغلی, script=Arab) is a district on the European side of İstanbul, Turkey, separated from the old city (historic peninsula of Constantinople) by the Golden Horn. It was known as the region of Pera (Πέρα, meani ...

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. It is the only currently active Ashkenazi synagogue in Istanbul open to visits and prayers. The synagogue was founded by Jews of Austrian origin in 1900. It is also the last remaining synagogue from a total of three built by

Ashkenazim Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

, as the population of

Ashkenazi Jews Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

accounts for 4 percent of the total Jewish population of Turkey. Visits to the synagogue can be made during weekday mornings and for

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...

services on Saturday mornings. The synagogue holds weddings, bar mitzvahs and other religious ceremonies in the Ashkenazi tradition. Rabbi Dr. David Marcus, who also established the Jewish school Bene Berit, served as Rabbi and spiritual leader until his death in 1938. Rabbi

Mendy Chitrik Rabbi Menachem Mendel Chitrik (born March 31, 1977), better known as Rabbi Mendy Chitrik, is an American, Israeli, and Turkish Rabbi of the Ashkenazi Jewish community of Turkey since 2003. He became the chairman of the Alliance of Rabbis in Islam ...

, chairman of

Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States The Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States is a union of rabbis residing in Muslim countries, established in December 2019 to support Jewish life in the region. Its activity is approved by Chief Rabbi of Israel Grand Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef and follo ...

, has served as the rabbi of the Ashkenazi Synagogue since 2003..

References and notes

External links

Chief Rabbinate of TurkeyShalom Newspaper - The main Jewish newspaper in Turkey
Ashkenazi Jewish culture in Turkey Ashkenazi synagogues Austrian diaspora Synagogues in Istanbul Synagogues completed in 1900 Beyoğlu Synagogues in the Ottoman Empire Synagogue buildings with domes {{Turkey-synagogue-stub

See also

References and notes

External links