El Ghriba Synagogue

The El Ghriba Synagogue (Arabic: كنيس الغريبة), also known as the Djerba Synagogue, is an ancient Maghrebi Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in the Jewish village of Hara Seghira (currently known as er-Riadh), several kilometres southwest of Houmt El Souk, the main town on the island of Djerba, Tunisia. The synagogue appears to be the oldest synagogue in the world.

Besides being the center of the island's Jewish life, the synagogue is also a Jewish site of pilgrimage. While extensively renovated in the 19th century CE, the buildings may date from the 6th century BCE: one of the legends associated with its founding claims that either a stone or a door from Solomon's Temple or the Second Temple is incorporated in the building. El Ghriba is the most famous of the about 20 synagogues that were being used until the 1950s in the three Jewish villages on Djerba.

In 2023 Djerba was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The synagogue has been the target of terrorist attacks in 1985, in 2002, and in 2023.

Djerba is home to around 1,300 Jews, and El Ghriba is an important feature of Jewish life on the island. According to legend, the construction of the synagogue dates from to the High Priests' escape following the destruction of Solomon's Temple by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar II in the year 586 BCE (or, alternately, the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE). The High Priests carried with them a door and a stone of the destroyed Temple. Thus the synagogue links the Jewish diaspora to the "sole sanctuary of Judaism". In modern times, the local Jews are distinguished by their dress, which includes a black band around their pants, which signifies the destruction of the Temple.

Another tradition claims that the synagogue was built on a spot where a young girl (ghriba, "the isolated one") had lived, that had not been accepted by the others. She died, and her uncorrupted body was found by the Jews of the nearby village, and then buried in a cave which became the site of an annual pilgrimage for Lag BaOmer.

The synagogue was built at the end of the 19th century at the spot where the sixth-century building had stood.

On the outside, the current synagogue is a modest building, whereas the interior is richly decorated. In contrast to the other synagogues of Djerba, El Ghriba consists of two covered halls. Following several structural extensions the first of the two halls was built through the roofing of a formerly open courtyard in order to increase the capacity for the number of visitors. At the entrance, there are two columns dividing the room into three areas. This hall is connected to the main hall by three vaults. At this side there are two columns, supporting a high skylight of numerous windows. Initially there were twelve windows in the hall, representing the twelve tribes of Israel.