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The following Jewish sites are of greatest significance to the history of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews who arrived in the Ottoman Empire during and after 1492, and to the present-day community life of their descendants.
Jewish Sites in Turkey
The Galata Tower in Beyohave great historical and artistic value, and all sites are within easy walking distance of one another. The presence in Galata began in Byzantine times when this was a walled city separate fro Constantinople. Galata was inhabited and ruled by the Genoese, who had among them numerous Jewish families. As recently as a few decades ago, the Galata quarter rang with the songs and street-game chants of Jewish children speaking Judeo Spanish. Today most of Istanbul' s Jews live in more desirable residential quarters, though Galata's synagogues are still of great importance to the city's Jewish community. Sites in Galata include the office of the Chief Rabbinate, the Neve Shalom, Ashkenaz, and Italian synagogues, the Zulfaris Synagogue Museum, Jewish elementary and high schools and Kamondo staircase. For walking tours, Galata is easily accessible from Taksim-area hotels by means of the new Istiklal Caddesi streetcar which runs from Taksim square along Istiklal Caddesi. Travel on the streetcar costs a fraction of a dollar. This avenue, the former Grand Rue de Pera, is lined with historic diplomatic posts, handsome old houses, fashionable boutiques and upscale restaurants and lounges. Tunnel Square, a potential starting point for tours. One finds here the upper terminus of Galata's little two-station subway train, built by French engineers YN 1875.
The office of the Chief Rabbinate, Abdullah Yeminci Sokaunel Square, has been here since early this century. Neve Shalom Synagogue is one of the larger synagogues in the city, inaugurated on March 25, 1951. It's designed and decorated in a modern style and used for major functions of the community such as weddings bar-mitzvahs and funerals. The Italian Synagogue is only a short walk down¬hill from Neve Shalom. It was founded in the 1880's by Austrian and Italian Jews living in Istanbul, who placed themselves under the protection of the Italian ambassador.
The Ashkenaz Synagogue on a steep pedestrian street descending the hill from the Galata Tower to Karakoy, is ten minutes walk uphill, then down from the Italian Synagogue. The facade of the building inaugurated in 1900, is especially imposing, with three oriental arches and octagonal rosette windows. The synagogue is well-kept and attractive. Balat is another of the quarters in which Jews were settled after their expulsion from Spain, enlarging the community which had lived here since Byzantine times. Today Balat is working-class district on the shores of the Golden Horn. Most famous of the Istanbul's old synagogues is the Ahrida Synagogue, also called the Okrida. 's history, it had a thriving Jewish community much larger than that of today. Though the community is smaller now, it is no less active. There were once nine synagogues in use along Havra Soka's Bazaar; three are still in service today. Alsancak; as in Istanbul, this city's Jewish community has largely moved to the more desirable residential quarters. The Karata's most prestigious addresses. The Mustafa Bey Synagogue is a new building constructed to serve those who now live in this fashionable neighborhood, north of the Izmir International Fairgrounds. Sardis Ancient Sardis was the capital of the Kingdom of Lydia whose most famous king was Croesus, famed for his wealth. He was the first monarch to mint coinage, introducing this useful invention to the world. During its heyday as a Roman city, Sardis had a very large and prosperous Jewish community which may have been established here in much earlier times. In ancient Sardis, Jews held seats on the city council and important offices in the Roman civil administration. Remains of the beautiful and richly-appoint¬ed synagogue dating from the 200s A.D. have been uncovered and restored; much of the funding for restoration came from American Jewish individuals, congregations and philanthropies.
