Bet Mordechai Synagogue, La Goulette

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Bet Mordechai Synagogue
Synagogue Beit Mordekhai
Facade Synagogue Goulette.jpg
Facade of the Synagogue
Religion
Affiliation Judaism
Location
LocationRue Khaznadar
Municipality Tunis
Country Flag of Tunisia.svg Tunisia
Sector La Goulette
Geographic coordinates 36°49′16″N10°18′29″E / 36.821°N 10.308°E / 36.821; 10.308
Architecture
Architect(s) Benoît Barsotti
FounderIsaac Bessis

Bet Mordechai Synagogue of La Goulette, also known as the Bessis Synagogue or the Hospital Synagogue is a synagogue located on Rue Khaznadar in La Goulette, a suburb of Tunis, Tunisia.

Architecture

The building was donated to the community by community-member Isaac Bessis in the 1910s and was designed by Italian architect Benoît Barsotti. Barsotti included both classical and orientalist elements in the design of the building, including acroteria, columns and corniches. [1] Despite its style choices, it does not differ much from other buildings on the street. [2]

Access to the synagogue involves going through a passage that leads to the building facade (now separated from the street). Above the front door of the building are the Stone Tablets of the Ten Commandments. [1] Inside, the sanctuary is a square room centred around four pillars which once supported an upper women's section and a skylight before renovations in the 1980s replaced it with a portico above the Torah Ark. [1]

The building was reconstructed in 1995 after the roof collapsed a year prior. [3]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Colette Bismuth-Jarrassé; Dominique Jarrassé (2010). Synagogues de Tunisie. Patrimoines (in French). Le Kremlin-Bicêtre: Esthétiques du divers. pp. 261–263. ISBN   978-2-9533041-2-1..
  2. Magdi Abdelhadi (25 October 2012). "Tunisia Jews: A tiny community hanging on - and cooking". bbc.com. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  3. Hatem Bourial (10 May 2017). "À La Goulette, la synagogue Beit Mordekhai, un joyau en sept photos". webdo.tn (in French). Retrieved 18 June 2018.