Simon Attias Synagogue located in Bayt Dakira The Simon Attias Synagogue is a nineteenth-century synagogue in Essaouira,

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

, formerly known as Mogador, Morocco. It is also known as the Bet Ha-Knesset Simon Attias, M'sod Attias and Shaarei T'filah (', 'house of assembly' or ', "house of prayer"). The synagogue was built in

1882 Events January–March * January 2 ** The Standard Oil Trust is secretly created in the United States to control multiple corporations set up by John D. Rockefeller and his associates. ** Irish-born author Oscar Wilde arrives in t ...

.Zack, Joel, ''The Synagogues of Morocco; An Architectureal and Preservation Survey, Jewish Heritage Council and World Monuments Vund, New York, August, 1993, pp. 25 ff. The synagogue forms one wing of a masonry, courtyard building that also contained the home of Simon Attias. A single, large door set into a

Horseshoe arch The horseshoe arch (; Spanish: "arco de herradura"), also called the Moorish arch and the keyhole arch, is an emblematic arch of Islamic architecture, especially Moorish architecture. Horseshoe arches can take rounded, pointed or lobed form. Hi ...

leads into the suite of buildings. The synagogue is on the second floor. The ground floor once held shops. The third floor contained the offices of Jewish courts, which heard both commercial and personal cases. The synagogue proper is a space two stories high, with large, rounded-arch windows and a women's gallery. The interior woodword was carved in London. The large, wooden

Torah Ark A Torah ark (also known as the ''Heikhal'', or the ''Aron Kodesh'') refers to an ornamental chamber in the synagogue that houses the Torah scrolls. History The ark, also known as the ''ark of law'', or in Hebrew the ''Aron Kodesh'' or ''aron ha- ...

featured columns and a rounded pediment, and is decorated with floral carvings. A large number of memorial lambs survived in 1993, including one to the memory of Simon Attias, who died in

1892 Events January–March * January 1 – Ellis Island begins accommodating immigrants to the United States. * February 1 - The historic Enterprise Bar and Grill was established in Rico, Colorado. * February 27 – Rudolf Diesel applies fo ...

. In 1993 the synagogue was in sound condition. In 2009 it is closed and is now undergoing restoration and conversion to a museum. After the restoration, the synagogue is now part of the museum Bayt Dakira.

References

Jews and Judaism in Essaouira Synagogues in Morocco Synagogues completed in 1882 Synagogues preserved as museums 19th-century architecture in Morocco {{Morocco-synagogue-stub