You may not be aware that there is either a museum or a synagogue in central Karaköy, downhill from Galata Tower and directly facing the tram stop. I was not either, until one of my former professors pointed out a nondescript salmon-colored edifice, explaining that the entrance to the museum is through a back alley. I returned to the indicated spot during the museum’s operating hours and was pleased to find she was right. The much more attractive front face of the museum is hidden behind a high wall, a guard desk, and a metal detector, but it is definitely there and worth finding.
The Quincentennial Foundation Museum of Turkish Jews is housed in Zulfaris Synagogue, an active place of worship for some 300 years until being converted into a museum in 2001. The museum does not try to be completely comprehensive, but instead focuses on the 500 years of overlap, synthesis, and exchange between Jewish and Turkish culture, a Hanukkah menorah decorated with a crescent-and-star design being the best emblem of this. The exhibits are informative and up-to-date with new research and excellent English translations, and engage the viewer with relevant illustrations and artifacts, such as costumes, imperial edicts, old newspapers, and religious objects. Meanwhile, the stained glass windows, chandeliers, starry-painted ceiling, and Ark showcase the beauty of the building itself.
Even as a long-time student of Turkish history and a resident of the country, the museum had something to teach me. I learned more about how individuals and groups from Turkey have contributed to the well-being of Jewish communities, from Ottomans welcoming Jews to the Empire after their expulsion from Spain, to Turkish diplomats protecting European Jews during the Second World War. Even more informative was how members of the Jewish community profoundly shaped Turkey, including a long line of Jewish press and newspapers in Hebrew, Turkish, and Ladino language and the extensive impact of Jewish commerce on the Karaköy neighborhood itself–in fact, a short stroll away from the Jewish Museum are the art-deco Camondo Stairs, built by and named after the powerful family of Jewish-Turkish business people.
For history buffs like me that aren’t satisfied with the sights of Sultanahmet, I recommend seeking out this hidden-in-plain-sight museum and its uplifting stories of cultural exchange and synthesis.
Location: Arap Cami Mh., Perçemli Sk No:1, Beyoğlu, Turkey
Hours: Monday-Thursday 10-4; Friday and Sunday 10-2; closed Saturdays
Directions: Take the T1 Kabataş-Bağcılar tram to the Karaköy stop. Head towards the Karaköy-Tunel funicular station. Turn left into the dead-end Perçemli Street. The museum is at the end of this street.
Website: www.muze500.com
Cassondra loves swingsets, art, and finding hidden historical gems. She writes about Istanbul, travel, language, and teaching at pulsations.wordpress.com.
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