November 11, 2010

The Haskoy quarter of Istanbul, which overlooks the historic Golden Horn inlet of the Bosphorus, was once the site of the gardens and pavilions of the Ottoman Empire sultans. In the late 15th century, it became the refuge for thousands of Jews who were expelled from Spain and Portugal and who built dozens of synagogues in the area. Today, Haskoy is a gritty industrial area where barely a trace of the former synagogues remains — except for one.