Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue

This synagogue was built in 1884. It was paid for by Jacob Elias Sassoon in memory of his father, Eliyahoo, and his family was one of the most powerful in nineteenth-century Bombay. The Sassoons were Baghdadi Jews who arrived in the city in the 1830s and built docks, textile mills and libraries. The David Sassoon Library, just around the corner, also bears their name.

1The blue synagogue

Its facade used to be painted turquoise, which is why many people call it the blue synagogue. In 2018 and 2019 it was carefully restored and regained the white with indigo mouldings you see today. Inside it keeps stained-glass windows and a women's gallery. Visits are usually allowed at certain times and with photo ID: check beforehand whether it is open.

2A city of many faiths

Bombay has always been a port of arrival. The Bene Israel, a very old Jewish community from the Konkan coast, lived alongside the Baghdadi Jews. The Parsis, Zoroastrians who came from Persia more than a thousand years ago, built their fire temples here and their Towers of Silence on Malabar Hill. Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Jains and Sikhs have shared the city for centuries. Few Jews remain in Mumbai today, but their synagogues are still open.

A blue building that tells how a port became home to many peoples.

3What to look for

• The indigo mouldings on the white facade.
• The inscription above the entrance.
• The David Sassoon Library, a few steps away.