Maalem Synagogue

The synagogue was rebuilt after the great fires of the 19th century and acquired its present massing.
The building, which had fallen into neglect in the 1980s, was reopened for worship in 1994 after the repair process.
Sources also mention a restoration carried out beginning in 1991.
After the heinous attack of 15 November 2003, the synagogue was closed for security reasons and was reopened for worship in 2007 once the necessary measures had been completed.

The synagogue is identified by its doors opening onto the square between Harap Çeşme, Dere, and Basmacı Ruşen streets in Keçecipiri.
The source interprets the building as a legacy of the local Jewish population, which at one time is said to have approached 30,000.
No written document has been identified regarding the origin of the name “Maalem”; one explanation records that it may be a shortening of the word “Mahallem” (my neighborhood).
It has also been suggested that the name “Maalem” may mean “the whole world/universe together.”
Another interpretation associates the name “Maalem” with the expression “ma aile” (“as a family”).
In the interior, with its domed covering system concealed beneath the roof, the building reflects an approach close to certain ceiling-and-dome solutions seen in Ottoman civil and religious architecture; the dome decoration is described as featuring a gold-leaf sun motif and a pictorial surface arrangement.
The prayer platform (teva) stands out with its form resembling a ship’s prow; architectural interpretations state that this form symbolizes either Noah’s Ark or the Sephardic migration.