The Jewish Museum of Turkey

About The Jewish Museum of Turkey

Museum in Beyoğlu, İstanbul, European Turkey

The Jewish Museum of Turkey, officially the Quincentennial Foundation Museum of Turkish Jews, is a museum and cultural centre established by the Quincentennial Foundation to inform the public about the traditions and history of Turkish Jewry. The foundation was created in 1989 by 113 Turkish citizens, Jews and Muslims alike, to mark the five hundredth anniversary of the arrival of the Sephardim in the Ottoman Empire after their expulsion from Spain in 1492; the idea of a museum came from Naim Güleryüz, now its curator, and it was financed by the prominent Kamhi family. The museum opened on 25 November 2001. It was first housed in the historic Zülfaris Synagogue in Karaköy and later moved to the Neve Shalom Synagogue complex in the Galata quarter of Beyoğlu. The exhibits show how Jewish and Muslim cultures mixed and influenced one another over more than five centuries, through documents, photographs, costumes, religious and household objects, and sections on the Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) language, music, weddings and cuisine. It makes a short but rewarding stop for anyone wishing to understand the religious diversity of the Ottoman city and the story of the empire's welcome to the Jews expelled from al-Andalus.

Where:

Istanbul, Türkiye