Ben Ezra Synagogue

Coptic Cairo is the old Christian neighborhood, and the Ben Ezra Synagogue is right in the middle of it. To be more specific, it is in the heart of Coptic Cairo. is a place that Jews have been going to for a long time to pray and make a pilgrimage.

 

Directions:

This unassuming but interesting neighborhood in Old Cairo is easy to find by just walking around. It is about 30 minutes from the centre of Cairo and is in the Old district of Coptic Cairo.

 

History:

The Ben-Ezra Synagogue is a little bit east of the Church of Saint Sergius and Bacchus and right next to the Church of Saint Barbara. It used to be a place of worship for Coptic Christians, but it was given to Jews when Ahmed Ibn Tulun asked Patriarch Michael III for payment and was given the church in exchange.

It was thought to be Cairo’s oldest synagogue because it was so old, and it held a collection of Jewish papers that were very important and helpful to the Jewish faith at the time.

It was called the Synagogue of the Palestinians, and a story says that when Moses was a baby, he was found near this building.

The archives were finally kept, and many of them can now be looked at in Cambridge, England. There, young Jewish students from the surrounding area read them to learn something new.