synagogue

Edirne's beautiful Büyük Synagogue has been under restoration since 2010, after it fell to ruin when much of the city's Jewish community emigrated. Built in 1907, the synagogue was brought into the headlines a few months ago by inflammatory and hateful remarks made by the district's governor, insisting that the synagogue would only open as a museum, in response to Israel's actions involving the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.



Needless to say, his comments resulted in public outcry, and the synagogue will open its doors for worship sometime in the near future. It's a gorgeous building— I can't imagine how lovely it must be inside! I read somewhere that it will be the second largest synagogue in Europe, after the Dohány Street Synagogue in Budapest, which I was lucky to visit some time ago.