My Visit to the “Gate of Heaven”

A year and a half ago, I wrote an article for the AUC Times magazine on the marginalization of the Jewish community of Egypt. The photographer assigned to the article was a close friend of mine, so I decided that it would be a good idea to accompany him while taking shots of Cairo’s Jewish quarter, to get a grasp of the heritage site myself and draw more on it in the article, as well as having a nice friends-outing in Downtown Cairo. But while walking along Adly street near Talaat Harb, we discerned a building that has a colonialist feel in its architecture with the star of David and neo-Pharonic carvings on front. Our visit was then centered around that building -the Sha'ar HaShamayim Synagogue- literally translated from Hebrew as “Gate of Heaven”.

A picture taken by me for the AUC Times, 2017

The is the perfect depiction of a fine building with a mélange of eclectic architecture. A closer look would show a facade adorned with a massive number of features in basso-relievo stone inscriptions that are stylistically diverse, while over it all hovers an Egyptian, Arab, and Jewish art feel. On entering the building, the viewer can grasp an entire brew of styles: Neo-Baroque, A Mameluke-Arab feel, Art Deco and Neo-Pharaonic. It is just because of the distinctive furnishings and Hebrew engravings that I realized that I was actually standing in a synagogue, a place of Jewish worship. Moreover, the architecture of the synagogue bears a resemblance to the Egyptian temples of the pharaohs’ time, with plants and lotus flowers decorating the outside walls along the big star of David on the front. The interior walls, however, have two big granite-like tables with names of Egyptian Jewish figures engraved on them: Cattauis Pacha, Cicurel …., etc. 

A video tour of the synagogues entrance, 2017

The interiors the synagogue include paintings of prophet Moses, which I knew later, that the designer made them intentionally to remind the world that Moses was the prince of Egypt before becoming a prophet. All in all, the massiveness and the stylistic architectural beauty if the synagogue demonstrates to the history of the local Cairene Jews and faithfully echoes their heritage and affiliation. I was surprised to see such a wonderful building of a now-marginalized-and-hated group in the Egyptian community; it was a live proof of the beautiful co-existence that our society once had.

Walking down an aisle video tour, 2017

The Egyptian Jewish community has been standing for hundreds of years, with the Sha’ar HaShamayim synagogue intrinsically being a main place of gathering throughout the 19^th century. Even up till today the Adly street temple is the only place in Cairo that celebrates the Jewish high holidays. The Adly street synagogue is one of nine synagogues in Egypt that have always been neglected because of fear and public inattention to allocate funds to restore these historic buildings. Nonetheless, the Sha’ar HaShamayim and other synagogues are part of Egypt’s heritage and neglecting or erasing them means eradication a significant part of Egypt’s history.

The interiors of the synagogue, a picture taken by CairoScene, 2016

Sources:

Samir Raafat, "The House of Yacoub Cattaui," Historical Society of Jews from Egypt, N.d., accessed September 30, 2018, http://www.hsje.org/The%20House%20oof%20Yacoub%20Cattaui.html#.U6oNYfldWSo

Joel L. Kraemer, Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World, s.v. "Maimonides, Moses," accessed September 30, 2018 <http://0-referenceworks.brillonline.com.luna.wellesley.edu/entries/encyclopedia-of-jews-in-the-islamic-world/maimonides-moses-COM_0014370>

Nivein Ghoneim, "Magda Haroun: The Egyptian Jewish community vibrant past and macabre present", accessed September 30, 2018 <http://cairoscene.com/In-Depth/Magda-Haroun-Egypt-Jewish-Community-s-Vibrant-Past-and-Macabre-Present>