Istanbul’s Quincentennial Foundation Jewish Museum Of Turkey has revamped its permanent exhibition — and changed venues, moving from the Zulfaris synagogue, where it has been located since its inauguration in 2001, to the Neve Shalom synagogue.
The Zufaris synagogue (built in 1823 on the site of an earlier synagogue dating from 1671) remains disused, while the grand domed Neve Shalom synagogue, dedicated in 1951, is the central synagogue used by Istanbul’s Jewish community.
“We merged Neve Shalom and the museum together under the same umbrella so visitors can enjoy both when they come,” museum director and coordinator Nisya İşman Allovi told JHE. In addition, “if there is a wedding or other ceremony in the synagogue visitors can see the ceremony from the museum section.”
The arrangement is similar to that in the Jewish Museum in Rome, Italy — the museum entrance is separate from the synagogue entrance, but visitors can visit the synagogue as part of their visit to the museum.
As part of the move, the permanent exhibition has been expanded, and new sections have been added. Among other things, a space for children has been created, and touchscreen computers have been installed, via which visitors can access further material and documentation.
Other new or planned new sections include special units for Judaica, the Jewish Community today, the Jewish life cycle and high holidays, İşman Allovi said.
New address:
Bereketzade Mahallesi,
Büyükhendek Caddesi No: 39,
Beyoğlu,İstanbul
Read article about museum by the Andalou News Agency
3 comments on “Turkey: Istanbul’s Jewish Museum revamps & changes venue”
Is the museum still accepting submissions (digital or hard-copy) for their exhibits or online publications? If so, here is some ethnographic research I did on Turkish-Jewish families, highlighting 1 Jewish-Muslim family & 1 Jewish-Christian family who found refuge in Turkey. I presented this at the II Cumbre Erensya (a Sephardic summit in Europe) & also at UC-Ladino (a conference at UCLA in Los Angeles): https://prezi.com/st9c19hycdau/turkish-jewish-life-language-legacy/
I suggest that you contact the museum directly about this. The link to its web site is on this JHE post, and it contains the contact information including phone and email.
Kol Hakavod