On your left is the Ashkenazi Synagogue of Istanbul-quiet, modest, and still very much alive. It sits close to the Galata Tower, but its story starts with a different kind of landmark: a community trying to hold onto home. Austrian Jews founded this congregation in 1900, building on the memory of an earlier “Austrian Temple” that stood here from 1831. Back then, the neighborhood would’ve sounded like a mash-up of languages-Turkish on the street, and inside, prayers in the Ashkenazi rite. Then came 1866: a massive fire tore through and destroyed that first building, and with it, a big piece of local Jewish life.
Today, this is the only active Ashkenazi synagogue in Istanbul that welcomes visitors for weekday mornings and Saturday services. It still hosts weddings and bar mitzvahs-moments of joy that outlast the city’s disasters and drama. Since 2003, Rabbi Mendy Chitrik has led the congregation, keeping a small but resilient tradition going.
When you’re set, St. George’s Austrian High School is a 3-minute walk heading north.
