Kahal Shalom Synagogue

The Kahal Shalom Synagogue stands on Simiou Street in the Jewish Quarter, known locally as the Juderia, of the Old Town of Rhodes, Greece. Built in 1577 during the Ottoman period, it is generally described as the oldest synagogue in Greece still in use. The Jewish community of Rhodes grew substantially after the arrival of Sephardic Jews expelled from Spain in 1492, and the island became an important centre of Judeo-Spanish culture. The community numbered around 2,000 in the 1930s, but in July 1944 the German occupiers deported about 1,700 Rhodian Jews, and only a small number survived. The synagogue was damaged by a bombing in 1944 and by earthquakes, and it was restored in the postwar decades with help from the surviving community abroad. The building is modest on the outside and opens into a courtyard before the prayer hall. Inside, the hall follows the Sephardic layout, with a central bimah, an ornate Ark, wooden furnishings and chandeliers, and a floor covered with black and white pebble mosaics, with a design typical of Rhodes. Memorials in the courtyard and a museum space adjoining the synagogue commemorate the deported community. The Jewish Museum of Rhodes, in the same complex, displays photographs, documents, textiles and ritual objects that record the history of the community. The Square of the Jewish Martyrs, a short walk away, contains a sea-horse fountain and a memorial to the 1944 deportation. The synagogue is still used for occasional services, mainly in the summer, when former Rhodian families visit. Information panels are in Greek and English. A visit usually takes 30 to 45 minutes. Visitors should dress modestly and respect that the site is a place of worship and memory. Preservation is good, though the community is now very small.