THE JEWISH WORLD
Peaceful Serajevo. This delightful, little-touristed
Eastern European city is no longer at war and the violent ethnic conflict is long over with exotic Sarajevo, at once Oriental and European, the gateway to a fascinating Balkan-Jewish heritage.
Shown:
The Old jewish temple (II Kal Grandi) was built in 1581, but it was on fire twice (1697 and 1768). It was restored at the beginning of the XIX century. Due to an increased number of believers the New temple was built in 1821. The interior of the Old temple is divided into three naves. Its front part is the blessed area and it is used for sermons. Two lateral temple naves, as well as the part on the North side, used to have two floors each, which was a stipulation for worship. The first floor was intended for women, whilst the men were on the ground floor. It was completely reconstructed in 1909 when electrical lighting was installed, the stone facade was plastered with mortar and a new roof was made. In World War Two it suffered severe damage by the Nazis. Today, the Jewish museum is there.
Sarajevo Haggadah was written in the 14th century and is believed to be brought to Sarajevo from Spain by the Sephardi Jews. Today, the Haggadah is kept at the National museum in Sarajevo.
http://www.thejewishweek.com/travel/vacations/peaceful_sarajevo
