Ankara Synagogue

"i love this place😇"

cagli1908

"Wow"

Fernanda Pegueros

"Ankara's Jewish Neighborhood is under Samanpazarı. It is in the area between Denizciler Street and Anafartalar Street. It is adjacent to Yeğenbey Neighborhood.

When we look into whether there were other neighborhoods where Jews lived before, we see that Galanti points to another neighborhood. This is Hoca Hindi Gayr-1 Muslim Neighborhood[14]. It is shown as a neighborhood where Jews and Muslims shared or lived side by side. In the records of the first census conducted in 1830, the statement "Jews in Hoca Hindi and Öksüzce" is encountered[15].

As mentioned above, the Jewish Neighborhood under Samanpazarı has preserved its texture as much as possible by remaining within the old urban protected area as part of the public works of Ankara, the capital city after the Republic, and with the growth directed towards Çankaya. However, it should not be forgotten that the northern part of the neighborhood was severely damaged in the fires it experienced in 1915-1917.

In the Jansen zoning plan that came into effect in 1932, it was shown as a neighborhood where two kadis and courtyard houses/structures were deemed appropriate. However, when Jansen left Türkiye in 1939, the plan in question could not be implemented, which led to an unplanned and very different growth in the neighborhood than planned. The multi-kadi structures around the Jewish Neighborhood, which reached from four to eight, were formed with the implementation of the Yücel-Uybadin zoning plan (1957).

The neighborhood took its place within the Ankara urban conservation area with a decision in 1980. Although this decision taken by the Ministry of Culture was a decision to prevent the demolition of the units that constitute the Jewish Neighborhood, Hasırcılar Street, which was opened in the same year, caused the demolition of many structures, especially in the western wing of the old neighborhood. The houses were the most damaged by this.

However, in 1983, the decision of the Supreme Council of Monuments to reduce the number of floors in the protected areas limited the new construction on Hasırcılar Street to two floors[16]. This was a positive approach towards the integrity of the old texture.

The Jewish Quarter is also important as a neighborhood that also contains some of the historical religious structures of Ankara. These are: Örtmeli Mescid, Eskicioğlu Mosque, Leblebicioğlu Mosque, and again the structure of our subject, the Synagogue, are examples symbolizing the period from the 14th century to the beginning of the 19th-20th centuries. Apart from these, there is also a bathhouse that we can call the end structure of the extension of the Jewish Quarter to Anafartalar Street; This is the Şengül Bathhouse, a 16th-17th century structure.

Jews no longer live in this only known Jewish Quarter of Ankara (İstiklal Quarter is its new name, but the locals know the neighborhood as the Jewish Quarter by its old name) (Fig. 1). The few Jews who remained in the city left their old neighborhoods and migrated to other districts[17]. Some houses in the neighborhood are empty. The rest are accommodating new residents (Fig. 2). The houses that open onto narrow streets in a connected layout are generally two-storey and have courtyards. They open onto the street with courtyard doors. Some are somewhat closed to the street with walls surrounding the small paved area in front. There are also single and three-storey houses. There may be fountains and pools in the courtyards, paved areas or gardens.

These houses, which were once the shelter of a single family, have now become shared by several families due to economic difficulties. This has led to either changes or new spaces/additions in the spaces that are not suitable for common use."

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