Ruins Synagogue description and photos - Albania: Saranda (Topic)

Ruins synagogue description and photos - Albania: Saranda. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is Ruins Synagogue.

Photo and description

The synagogue was built in the 5th century AD inside the fortress walls of the city of Onchezmus - this is the ancient name of the present Saranda.

Judging by the size of the two-story building, the local Jewish community was large and wealthy. Nothing is known about its origin, but, based on Jewish written documents, Jews from the countryside migrated to cities in peace and prosperity.

The fort city of Onchezmus was located on the seashore, on the overland trade route between Corfu, Thessaloniki and Constantinople. Jewish settlements scattered along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea were important points of the trade route at the end of antiquity. It is known from a passage of an ancient text that the Onchezmus community had contacts with the Italian Hebrew community, located near Lecce. The version of the synagogue is also supported by the discovered tombstone with an inscription in Hebrew that the daughter of the head of the Onchezmus community is buried here.

The synagogue served as both a religious and a community center, and a school was also located here. Its construction was carried out in two stages. Originally, the synagogue was two-storied, and included a prayer hall with images of a menorah on a mosaic floor. During the prosperity of the community, a new prayer hall was built in the style of a basilica. The synagogue was completely converted into a basilica in the 6th century. It has not been reliably established why the buildings were destroyed - from an earthquake or a Slavic invasion. Floors with numerous mosaics depicting animals and Jewish symbols have survived to this day.

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Topic: Ruins Synagogue description and photos - Albania: Saranda.