Here is a wonderful signed illustration art drawing from 1975 of the Haskoy Jewish cemetery in Istanbul Turkey overlooking The Golden Horn. The Golden Horn (Haliç) is an inlet of the Bosphorus with two rivers draining into it at the far end. It is considered to be the world’s largest natural harbor and separates the European shore of Istanbul into two. asköy is the other Jewish suburb of Istanbul located on the northern bank of the Golden Horn. When the Ottoman Empire was at its height in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Hasköy was slightly more populous than Balat and contained a greater concentration of elite Jews. One of the most famous inhabitants of the quarter, the prestigious physician from Granada Moshe Hamon, was an adviser to Sultan Mehmet II the Conqueror. Also in this quarter the first Jewish printing presses were set up. The most renowned educational and cultural institution of the period, the Gvira Yeshiva, established in the sixteenth century by Joseph Nasi is also located here. “There are more than a thousand homes surrounded by garden in Hasköy, a beautiful spot with good air”, recalled Evliya Tchelebi, the famous Ottoman traveler and diarist of the seventeenth century who wrote about the 17000 strong Jewish population -at the time the overwhelming majority in the quarter. Soon after, the quarter began a period of decay, although the old traditions persisted. In 1858, Abraham de Camondo founded the institute that bears his name, the first Jewish school in the capital to teach according to western principles. The large school building of the Universal Israelite Alliance was opened in the same neighborhood in 1899. In 1955, the building became the administrative offices for the rabbinical seminary (which were later moved to Galata). Today it houses the main Jewish hospice for the elderly in Istanbul (at Köy Mektep Street). Urban reconstruction and the rerouting of major thoroughfares have devastated this neighborhood even more than that of Balat. Only two of the more than thirty synagogues in Hasköy remain. The Maalem Synagogue was built in 1754. Recently restored after years of abandonment, this elegant building stands in a courtyard protected by a high wall. Two marble columns flank the porch, which opens onto a large, almost square hall with six pillars. The tevah stands in the middle of the room and has the form of a ship, like that of the Ahrida Synagogue. Beneath a small dome with floral decorations, is the aron, whose wooden doors have richly gilt moldings. Simpler and more restrained in the past with its light plastered wall contrasting with the darkness of the wooden pews, the hall interior today alternates between sky blue and white. The restorations have brought to life a part of the mural decorations. Hasköy also is home today to Istanbul’s main Karaite population. Their kenassa (synagogue),  Bene Mikra, is a small wooden building behind a large brick wall. According to local tradition, a Karaite temple already existed on this spot in the Byzantine period. The current building, with its lovely portico flanked by two columns and a sculpted triangular pediment, was reconstructed in the eighteenth century after being devastated by fire. Access to the building is by way of a small staircase. Ilan Karmi notes that “As with all Karaite synagogues, this one is constructed below the ground level in order to respect the biblical passage that states, ‘From the depths, I call you, my God'”. Inside, prayer carpets replace the conventional pews for worshippers. The wooden houses surrounding the temple were formerly inhabited by Karaite families. Going back hill to the north, you will arrive at Hasköy’s large Jewish cemetery, the largest in the city along with that of Kuzgunçuk, on the asiatic side of the Bosporus. Half abandoned, the cemetery is today bisected by an urban thoroughfare. The road passes just at the foot of Abraham de Camondo’s tomb, a neo-Gothic mausoleum meant to recall for posterity the grandeur of this enterprising financier, who, although living in Paris, asked to be buried in Istanbul. Dimensions: 11 1/2" by 15". 

Hasköy Çıksalın Cemetery

Haskoy is one of the oldest districts where Jews used to live and one of the older still-used Jewish cemeteries is located there. During the many centuries the Haskoy Cemetery was used, as a result of earthquakes as well as the destructive intrusions of private people and official authorities, the plot has been significantly reduced. Especially in 1972 when highways and the Golden Horn Bridge were being built, hundreds of tombstones had to be moved. As seen below, some were transferred in an orderly way whereas some had to be Halachically buried in collective plots. During the above period in order to prevent people from damaging or stealing tombstones, the stones had to be stacked within the cemetery on top of each other. After the highway and new roads were built, the local population started to trespass and use the cemetery as a short-cut passage. The walls were not strong & high enough to stop this trespassing and the people around did not cooperate, on the contrary used violence against the community leaders who wanted them to stop the trespassing. The tombstones have been misused by the local population and have been in numerous occasions vandalized; burnt, used as a garbage dump, and have been disturbed by people seeking treasures in the ground. For many years the leaders of the community seeked to explain the problems to the local authorities and have in time been able to cooperate together to improve protection of the cemetery by reinforcing the perimeter walls, also adding extra wire mesh on top of some parts of the walls. Cooperating with the local police they have been able to organize constant police patrol further enabling the maintaing of a watchman day and night. Presently the local population is not able to pass through the cemetery and use it as a shortcut; thanks to the presence of watchdogs cannot dig the earth to seek treasures and intruding into the cemetery for different reasons has decreased. Despite all these measures our watchman suffers constant verbal abuse from locals and our dogs are continuously attacked with the intent to mutilate or kill. We continue with our intense cooperation with the local authorities in order to be able to stop the above abuse and attacks. In 2005 we rebuilt the midrash in the same location of the old one, With this change community members started preferring the Haskoy Cemetery more than in the past. However because of the decrease of empty plots We have started to prepare new burial areas under the control and supervision of the Chief Rabbi of Israel and his representative here. For this reason in plots where there are no tombstones, Halachically correct support walls which are higher than necessary have been built without digging into the ground the interiors of the plots have been filled with earth transported from outside and have been prepared for burials. Burials are being done in the plot prepared as explained above and the rest of the area is being prepared similarly for future burials. The above work has been done carefully, respecting the borders of the graves and no damage was given to the graves. All the work is being done under the control of our Beth-Din. In addition, the graves of the deceased with no relatives to be found and which have been damaged by natural causes or as a result of human abuse are being repaired with concrete and marble by the Neve Shalom Foundation. The relations pursued with the official authorities, burial and caretaking of the cemetery is undertaken by the Neve Shalom Foundation.