Kanesoi Gumbaz Synagogue

One of the two synagogues operating in the city, Kanesoi Gumbaz, is located in the old part of Samarkand.

The construction of the synagogue lasted six years from 1885 to 1891 at the expense of the rabbi, the head of the large community of Bukharian Jews of Samarkand, Rafael ben Moshe Nosy Kalontar, as evidenced by the inscription made in Hebrew inside the building.

According to his grandchildren, the rabbi himself did not have time to pray in this synagogue, as he died of cholera in 1891 in Samarkand.Kanesoi Gumbaz is a courtyard with small buildings on the territory with prayer rooms and utility rooms.

The synagogue itself, as well as the nearby Jewish hammam (bathhouse), is built according to the dome system, from where it takes its name – Gumbaz.

During the Second World War, the synagogue served as a temporary shelter for Jewish evacuees from the USSR.Even though Kanesoi Gumbaz has never closed its doors during its existence, its functioning, like other synagogues in the USSR, was limited during the Soviet period.

However, after Uzbekistan gained independence, the synagogue was fully operational.