Obj. ID: 25350
  Architecture  Synagogue in Ankara, Turkey

According to the Jewish Quarter Ankara Project:

"It is possible that the Ankara Synagogue has existed since the beginning of the 16th or 17th century. The synagogue, which is known to have been renovated in 1843 and 1909, lastly had some repairs in 1997. The synagogue, which is located on Birlik Street in the Jewish Quarter, has not been used for a long time, as there are no Jews living in the neighbourhood. However, it is known that the synagogue is opened once or twice a year on special occasions such as religious holidays and holy days. The synagogue that is located between adjacent houses in the Jewish Quarter is almost hidden by the garden wall and high iron gates, which were raised several times for security reasons in the following years. Because it is not open, it is impossible to see both inside and outside of the structure. Partly for this reason, most of the people who live in the city do not know that there is a historical synagogue in Ankara. The synagogue has a small courtyard with a transverse rectangular shape. A wall made of cut stones was used to separate the courtyard from the street. On this wall, there are columns made of cut stones arranged at equal intervals. Between the columns are decked with iron bars. In the 1970s, a wall was built between the railings in order to prevent the stones being thrown in. ‘L’ - shaped tie bars were installed at the top of the wall to prevent illegal entrances and 5 rows of barbed wire were drawn between the bars. The entrance to the courtyard is provided by 2 large iron gates on the wall connecting the courtyard to Birlik Street. Among these doors, the door in the west direction on the right was used as the main entrance, and the other was used as the school entrance door. The 5-pointed star decorations on the iron bars that are located on the doors draw attention. One of the functions of the courtyard in synagogues is setting up the arbours in the courtyard during the feast known as ‘Sukkot’. The tradition of this feast and the setting of the gazebo originate from the arbours called ‘sukkot’ in Hebrew that Jews established centuries ago as they crossed the desert. This feast, which is celebrated every year in September, is also a harvest feast. The building which is located to the right of the courtyard and in the west direction is a religious school called the ‘Midrash’. The building on the left side of the courtyard door is the entrance section of the Ravza-i Terakki School. The original structure of the school has been demolished. Each of the two buildings in the courtyard have three windows. The synagogue, which is a single storey structure, consists of a single undivided hall. The masonry-walled structure, built with rubble stones, has a tile roof. On the roof section above the entrance door, there is a triangular pediment that centred the building. The entrance door is set in a round-arched frame to centre the front facade. Today, the door is surrounded by a rectangular glass window. On both sides of the door, there are three rectangular windows with round-arched at the top. Coloured glasses are used in the arched parts of the windows. On the upper side of the entrance door, there is a Hebrew inscription in the middle of the roof pediment. In the inscription dated 1907, it has been written that: Isaiah 56:7 - “For my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations'". The floor of the synagogue is white marble. It is known that hand-woven carpets were used on the floor in the past. The wooden ceiling is flat. There are various decorations that are placed on the ceiling. A dome-like appearance has been given to the part of the ceiling overlain by Teva, which is the lectern for prayer. Lighting is provided by flashy crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. In addition to these, there are ceiling-mounted lamp glasses. Wooden chairs in the form of fixed rows are placed on four sides of the synagogue along the wall. Heating in the synagogue, which does not have a central heating system, was provided by a coal stove installed near the almemor during the winter season. On the eastern wall of the building, there is a choir balcony, which is designed as corbelled. The fine workmanship on the choir balcony is remarkable. It is known that the choir tradition was abandoned in the neighbourhood after the 1940s. On the eastern and southern facades, the upper part which was built like a lodge is the women's gathering place called “Ezrat Nashim”. Two sections in the synagogue draw attention: One of them is the section called ''ehal". The ehal, which is placed facing the direction of the temple in Jerusalem, forms the most spectacular part of the synagogue with its decorations. There are handwritten prayers taken from the Torah on parchment rolls called "Sefer Torah '' in the cabinet called ‘Aron Hakodesh’ that located in Ehal and this situation creates the importance of Ehal. The importance of Ehal is that in the cabin called "Aron Hakodesh", there are handwritten prayers taken from the Torah on parchment rolls called "Sefer Torah". The 3 stairs that are placed on the western wall and provide an exit to the Ehal contain a symbolic narrative that is reminiscent of the 3 angels who announced to Prophet Abraham that he would have a child with Sarah. There are three columns with rich relief decorations on each side of the staircase. At the top of the ehal, there is a pediment decorated in the rococo style on the columns. There is a single line of Hebrew inscription on the cornice under the pediment. Above the pediment, there is the 6-pointed Star of Prophet Solomon on the wall that is illuminated with blue light. The Ankara Synagogue's ehal section is the work of Italian artists. Beki Bahar, the author of the book called “The Jews of Ankara from Legend to History", states that the stained glass windows on both sides of the Ehal section were closed by building walls from the outside as they allowed thieves to pass. The other part of the synagogue that draws our attention is the octagonal planned platform in the middle of the hall and the prayer reading lectern located inside this platform. The Sephardi call it “teva" and the Ashkenazis call it "bima". In synagogues, the side of Teva that faces ehal, is designed as the prow. It is known that the basis of this design is the analogy of Noah's Ark in the Torah. The Sephardi, on the other hand, says that this analogy symbolizes the Ottoman galleys that brought them from Spain to Anatolia. In the Ankara Synagogue, the embossed ornaments with floral patterns on the front of the ceiling are striking.

Synagogue in Ankara - measured drawings

Synagogue in Ankara, Turkey - photos of 1996

Synagogue in Ankara, Turkey - photos of 2017

Synagogue in Ankara, Turkey - photos of 2020