According to a recent report in the Turkish media, it seems that the final use of the synagogue in Edirne, Turkey, currently under restoration, is still under discussion.
In an interview with the Anadolu news agency, Turkey’s Directorate General for Foundations Adnan Ertem said the Jewish community in Turkey would be consulted as to the historic building’s future.
“This is a synagogue, so our first and foremost aim is to turn it into a center of worship,” he was quoted as saying. “But naturally we cannot do it alone and we have to determine at first whether there is any opportunity for the building to continue to serve as a synagogue as there is no settled Jewish community there. For this reason, we will meet the leading religious figures of the Turkish Jewish community. We will enable the building to serve as a synagogue if they are able to use it full time as a shrine. Otherwise, it seems so at least for now, we will strive to give it another function after consulting to the Jewish community leaders.”
He said the restoration work, begun in 2010, should be completed by the middle of 2014.
We reported earlier that the restored building will be used as a municipal cultural center, but Edirne governor Hasan Duruer said that Jews will also be able to use it for religious rites, including weddings.
The synagogue, with two low side towers and tripartite facade, was built in 1907 to replace the city’s 13 synagogues that had been destroyed in a fire that swept Edirne in 1905.
It was used by the Jewish community until the 1970s and 1980s, but abandoned in 1983 and stood derelict for years. Its roof collapsed in 1997, leaving only the walls and facade.
See earlier JHE post on this project