A
Jewish wedding ceremony was held in a historical synagogue in the
northwestern province of Edirne on May 29 for the first time in 41
years. The synagogue had recently been restored by the Edirne
Directorate General of Foundations and reopened for worship.
Güneş
Mitrani, 30, and Harun Esentürk, 34, got married in the synagogue,
which also hosted the wedding of Rifat Mitrani, who was the only
representative of the Jewish community in Edirne, and Sara Mitrani years
ago.Built for the Jews taking refuge in the Ottoman Empire in 1492, the synagogue is Europe’s biggest and the world’s third biggest synagogue.
Tight
security measures were taken in the neighborhood around the synagogue,
including the closure of roads leading to the synagogue and security
searches of the wedding guests arriving from Istanbul. The guests also
went through an x-ray machine at the entrance of the synagogue, which
was installed a month ago.
The female and male guests watched the ceremony from separate places in the hall.
Edirne
Deputy Gov. Mehmet Tekinarslan and Mayor Recep Gürkan, as well as
Turkish Jewish Society head İshak İbrahimzade, the couple’s relatives
and approximately 3,000 guests, participated in the wedding.
Beadsmen
Nesim and Viktor Beruhiyel from the Jewish Society administered the
wedding ceremony, during which prayers were said for Turkey and
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
“No matter what they say, no matter what they think, as Atatürk
said, the Turkish Republic will last forever,” said the beadsmen,
referring to the words of Turkey’s founding father, Mustafa Kemal
Atatürk.
The official marriage ceremony was performed by the mayor after prayers and a religious wedding.
Gürkan wished the couple a lifetime of happiness and stressed that “history was being written.”
“We
are experiencing the honor and joy of taking part in the first [Jewish]
wedding after 41 years. I would wish for you to stay in Edirne, but
it’s impossible to fix. However, please come to Edirne more often. We
are expecting you,” Gürkan said.