Sirkeci Neighborhood Points of Interests Map

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The Or A Hayim Jewish Hospital

Between the 17th until the 19th centuries, Balat was a very rich Jewish neighborhood. The most common profession was Rabbinate. The Rabbis were also the teachers in the Jewish schools. Synagogues were not the only constructions of Balat's Jewry. The most important building in Balat, except the synagogues, is without any doubt the Or A Hayim Jewish hospital. This ethnical hospital is called since 2005, the Balat hospital and is used as a public hospital for everyone, Jewish or non-Jewish.

The permission was given to the Jewish community to built a hospital by the Ferman (law dictated by the Sultans) of the Sultan Mahmud II. on the 18 March 1839. Again, because of financial difficulties, the first Or A Hayim hospital was opened in 1858 by two young Jewish doctors. The first hospital bankrupted in 1883. At the end of 1884, the Or A Hayim association was founded. At the end of 1890, with the efforts of Dr. Rafael Dolmediko, the idea of building a Jewish hospital in Balat had developed again. The hospital was constructed only with the donations collected from the Jewish community. The Istanbul congregations collected 80 thousands francs, the Rotchild family donated 60 thousands francs and the Baroness of Hirsch donated 100 thousands francs.

There is various information concerning the date of construction of the hospital. According to Jak de Leon, the construction of the hospital started in 1896. And the hospital was opened 10 May 1897. According to Avraam Galante, the hospital's construction started on the 5 February 1897. The Stanbul newspaper printed in French at the time confirms that the construction started on 10 May 1896. The opening date marked at the entrance of the hospital is 1898. The main hospital building is 27, 1 meters long, 25 meters large and 15 meters high.

With the donations of Elia Kadori from Baghdad in 1922, a small synagogue was constructed in the garden of the hospital. The temple was named after the wife of Elia Kadori, Laura Kadori. This synagogue was reconstructed in 2005. Unfortunately there is nothing left today from the original building.

In 2005, a modern building was added to the complex of the hospital. This new building is used as a fully functional public hospital. The original building is used as an elderly home for old Jewish people needing special care. 40 women in groups of 6 would volunteer to come and take care of the old people residing in the Or A Hayim hospital. Those women are called the "Pink Angels".

With the joined efforts of the pink angels and the administration, the hospital is offering a pleasant shelter to its patients and elderly living in there.

Another person who played an important role in the history of the Or A Hayim hospital was Doctor Samuel Abravoya Marmarali. Dr. Marmarali, who served the hospital for 40 years, was one of the doctors of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. He also served in the Turkish parliament as a senator.

Balat Neighborhood Points of Interests Map

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Yanbol Synagogue

The Yanbol synagogue was founded by the Jewish congregation migrated from the Yanbol (Nigbolu or Necropolis) of Bulgaria. A document dated 21 May 1693 proves that the synagogue was active during the Byzantine period. There are still constructions from that period in the complex of the synagogue. The main building used as synagogue is made of wood. According to the traveler Schneider the synagogue was restored in 1709 by Yakov bin Yaseh. The ceiling of the main praying hall is decorated with landscape oil paintings. This ceiling was reconstructed at the end of the 19th century, in 1895 after the big Balat fire. The date 5655 (1895) marked at the main entrance shows that not only the ceiling the whole building was restored in 1895. The Ehal of the Yanbol synagogue, like the Ahrida synagogue was decorated with mother of pearl. The Ehal is reached by three small steps. The Women section, the Azara, is placed on top of wooden columns and is located on the north side of the synagogue. During the restoration of the Ahrida synagogue, the services were held in the Yanbol synagogue.

Ahrida Syangogue

According to a document dated 16 may 1693; the Ahrida synagogue is active since 1404. The synagogue was built by the Jewish community coming from Ohri, Macedonia. The name of the synagogue comes from the home town of its builders. The actual shape of the building has nothing to do with its original shape. According to a not very credible theory, the building of today is actually to buildings joined together.

The Ahrida synagogue was completely destroyed in the fire of 1690 and reconstructed. The last restoration took place between 1990 and 1992 by the Turkish architect Hüsrev Tayla. The temple was reopened on the 16th November 1992. This restoration was based on the plans of 1694 reconstruction and the decoration trends of the same period. The synagogue has two entrances. The south entrance is usually closed and the north entrance is used as the main gate.

The main building was constructed from bricks and stone. The floor is made from Marmara marble. The praying deck, called "Tevah" is at the center of the synagogue according to Sephardic traditions. (According to Sephardic traditions, the Tevah is built at the center of the synagogue. According to Ashkenazim traditions, the Tevah is constructed next to the Ehal. In most of the Sephardic synagogues constructed after the 18th century, the Tevah is built next to the Ehal like in an Ashkenazi synagogue. This is probably due to the fact that the Ashkenazi community was very small and in most of the neighborhood, there were no Ashkenazi synagogues. To honor the Ashkenazim, to make them feel at home, the Sephardim synagogues were constructed according Ashkenazim traditions.) The Tevah reached by two steps, has the shape of the back of a boat. According to some historian the Tevah represent the Arch of Noah. According to others, it represents the first ship coming from Spain during the Inquisition. The possibility of the Tevah being added to the synagogue during the restorations of 1694 makes both theories accurate. The Ehal of the Ahrida synagogue is reached by three steps. The wooden door of the Ehal is decorated with mother of pearl. The women section, the "Azara", of the temple is at the west. The fact that the Azara is separated by a glass from the rest of the synagogue proves that the community of the Ahrida synagogue was very orthodox.

The Ahrida synagogue burned down in the big fire of 1690 and was reconstructed by the order of the Sultan. It was reopened on the 10 May 1694. The synagogue was restored again in 1709, 1823, 1840, 1881, 1893, 1926 and 1955. During the restoration of 1840, the Midrash was added to the complex. The main entrance gate was renewed during the restoration of 1881.

The 16 September 1987, the Ahrida synagogue was declared "cultural asset worthy of protection", in 1989, a reproduction of the building was added to Miniatürk open air museum. Another reproduction of the synagogue is in Beth Hatefatsoth museum in Tel Aviv.

A tunnel was discovered under the synagogue in 1990. It is said the tunnel was constructed to allow the Jews living outside the city walls to come and pray in the Ahrida synagogue. During its existence of over 600 years, the Ahrida synagogue witnessed more than one historical event. It is said that in the 17th century, the famous Rabi, Sabetay Sevi (Zvi) preached in the Ahrida synagogue. On the 18 May 1877, during the Crimean war, a ceremony, with the participation of the Grand Vizier Ibrahim Ethem Pasa, for the Ottoman victory took place in this synagogue.

The Ahrida synagogue belonged to the Haci Isa congregation. It had a Jewish school and a charity foundation in its complex. Even several travelers who visited Balat in the 19th century described the neighborhoods as very poor; the district of Ahrida was different. The Balat neighborhood was divided into two as Interior Balat and Exterior Balat. The Interior Balat started from the area called "Konfofano" by the Jews, near the Balat gate. In the 19th century the gates of Balat were closed at night. During the Sabbath, the Gabby will control the neighborhood to make sure that everyone celebrated Sabbath. The Feruh Kahya hamami, called by the Jews "el banjo de Balat" was used as Mica.

Balat Neighborhood

With two active synagogues, the Jewish hospital, an old Jewish cemetery, Balat is still an important Jewish neighborhood.

The Jewish Star on the Façade of a Building

The Entrance of the Yanbol Synagogue

The Or A Hayim Jewish Hospital

The Back of the Çana Synagogue

Balat Neighborhood

The first synagogue known in Istanbul was from the 4th century and was converted to a church by the Byzantine emperor Theodosius II. The oldest synagogue still active today is from 1404; the Ahrida synagogue. The Ahrida synagogue is located in Balat, the area with the most synagogues and community buildings. Balat was already a Jewish neighborhood before the conquest of Istanbul.

With two active synagogues, the Jewish hospital, an old Jewish cemetery, Balat is still an important Jewish neighborhood.

Balat was, for 600 years, the most important Jewish neighborhood in Istanbul. The word Balat comes from the Greek word "Palate", which means near a palace or in the neighborhood of a palace. The Blakema palace gave its name to the area. There were over 10 thousands Jews living in Balat at the beginning of the 19th century. In 1965, only 650 families were left in Balat. Today there are only 3 families living in the area.

Balat was also a Jewish neighborhood before the conquest of Istanbul. The oldest synagogue in the city is located in Balat area. The first Jewish colony migrated to Balat in 1404 from Ohri, Macedonia. So Balat was at first a Romaniots neighborhood. After the conquest, communities from Yanbol/ Bulgaria, Varia and Castoria/ Macedonia and Salonika/ Greece came to Istanbul and settled in Balat. There were also Jewish migrations to Balat in 1492 from Spain, in 1497 from Portugal and in the 16th century from Rhodes. Until the big fires in the 17th century, the Romaniots were forming a different community.

At the beginning of the 19th century Balat was divided into two sections: Inner Balat and Outer Balat.

There were nine Jewish communities in Balat:

The Karabas Community
The Sigri Community
The Lonca Community
The Kalafat Community
The Tahtaminare Community
The Haci Isa Community
The Selma Tomruk
The Cibali Community

Every community had their own synagogues and their own associations but they were united under the authority of the same Chief Rabbinate. There were also Jewish schools belonging to the Alliance Israelite foundation in Balat. There were only two synagogues in Balat during the Byzantine period. During the Ottoman period there were 14 synagogues in the area. From those 14 synagogues only Ahrida and Yanbol synagogues are still active today. Some synagogues were destroyed during fires; others were destroyed during the reorganization of the city. Some are still remaining in ruins. Besides the synagogues, there were in Balat, a slaughterhouse, a Jewish cemetery and a funeral home. One of the most important buildings of the Istanbul Jewry is also in Balat: the Or A Hayim hospital. Despite a community of that importance, there are no Mikve in Balat. Turkish baths belonging to Jewish people were used as Mikve. As every district had at least one bath, there were no needs of Mikve.

Balat was an important settlement area for the Jews as well as all the minorities living in Istanbul. The Greek Orthodox Patriarch and the only Bulgarian church are located in this area.

Synagogues in Balat:

Ahrida
Yanbol
Kastoria
Pol Yasan
Sigri
Eliau
Cana
Istipol
Beth Israel
Lonca
Gerus Sefarad
Cibali
Varia

Jewish buildings in Balat:

Or A Hayim Jewish hospital
Alliance Israelite Jewish High School
Funeral Home
Slaughterhouse
Cemetery