Ben Ezra Synagogue
| Ben Ezra Synagogue | |
|---|---|
Ben Ezra Synagogue, Old Cairo | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Orthodox Judaism |
| Rite | Sephardic |
| Location | |
| Location | Cairo, Egypt |
| Geographic coordinates | 30°00′21″N 31°13′52″E |
| Architecture | |
| Completed | 1892 |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 17 meters (56 ft) |
| Width | 11.3 meters (37 ft) |
The Ben Ezra Synagogue (Hebrew: בית כנסת בן עזרא; Arabic: معبد بن عزرا), sometimes referred to as the El-Geniza Synagogue (בית כנסת אל גניזה) or the Synagogue of the Levantines (al-Shamiyin), is situated in the Fustat part of Old Cairo, Egypt. According to local folklore, it is located on the site where baby Moses was found.
This was the synagogue whose geniza or store room was found in the 19th century to contain a treasure of forgotten, stored-away Hebrew, Aramaic and Judeo-Arabic secular and sacred manuscripts. The collection, known as the Cairo Geniza, was brought to the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England at the instigation of Solomon Schechter. It is now divided between several academic libraries, with the majority being kept at the Cambridge University Library.