Ceremony held to inaugurate restored Turkish synagogue ...

Europe's third largest synagogue which recently underwent a renovation programme was opened at a ceremony on Thursday attended by Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç, the chief rabbi of Turkey's Jewish community, İsak Haleva, and a set of dignitaries.

The opening ceremony feature the placement of a Torah, a recitation of the Ten Commandments and a concert by a Turkish Jewish school's choir at the Edirne synagogue.

Turkey spent over TL 4 million on the four-year restoration. Initially earmarked to serve as a museum, it was later decided to use it both as a museum and a synagogue. There is no Jewish community in Edirne, save for one family, although previously some 20,000 Jews lived there in the early 20th century.
Most relocated to Istanbul, other cities or abroad either for economic reasons or to live in Israel. In 1934, a nationalist mob launched attacks on the Jewish quarters of Edirne, looting stores and beating up Jews. Similar incidents were reported in nearby towns where Jews lived, which led to a larger exodus of Jews from north-western Turkey. 
The Great Edirne Synagogue was built in 1905 on the order of Sultan Abdülhamid II to replace 13 separate synagogues destroyed by a huge fire that devastated the city. The building was designed by French architect France Depre. The synagogue opened in 1907 and served as a house of worship until. The building was later transferred to Edirne's Trakya University for cultural use, but was handed over to the General Directorate of Foundations in 1995. The synagogue's roof collapsed two years later.