In the spirit of #Hannukah, I am sharing some of the beautiful synagogues in Asia, starting with the one in #Bukhara, #Uzbekistan. Built more than 4 centuries ago, the synagogue proudly counts Hillary Clinton, Madeleine Albright and Christine Lagarde among its visitors.

Bukhara was once home to more than 50,000 members from the Jewish community. The Bukharan Jews have since moved to Israel and the US. Only 100 or so still call Bukhara home and steadfastly hold onto the Bukharian Jewish culture.

The caretaker kindly showed me the Torah. It is believed that the synagogue's Torah, may date to the time of the Babylonian exile. Following Cyrus The Great's conquest of Babylonia, the largest Jewish settlement in Central Asia was in the Emirate of Bukhara.

The Jewish community has been on the move well before the start of CE. Their origins lie in ancient Babylonia, the cradle of civilisation which was at the cusp of Tigris & Euphrates. From here, many Jews migrated to Europe (Ashkanazi) & to Asia (the Sephardic or Baghdadi Jews).

Iraq was an important outpost of the Ottoman empire. By 1760s, the ancient Mesopotamia was an important through route to India - the jewel in Britain's crown. It was for this reason that the English East India company set up Basra as its trading port to compete with Persia.

Many ethnic Jews traded with the East India Company but soon found themselves out of favour with Suleiman Pasha, who wanted to control the key cities of Basra, Baghdad and Mosul. Facing persecution, the Sephardic Jews migrated to India.

There are 3 Jewish communities in India: Bene Jews, Cochin Jews and Baghdadi Jews. Each group maintained their own separate identities and has had profound influence in the field of film, literature, music, medicine and more. Bene Israel were the most Indian in their attire.

Knesset Eliyahoo #Synagogue in #Mumbai was built by Jacob ellias Sassoon & Albert Sassoon in the memory of their father Eliyahoo David Sassoon. Designed by Bombay architects Gostling & Morris it was completed in 1884. The synagogue is used by #Bombay’s Baghdadi #Jewish community.

The Sephardic Jews migrated to Calcutta, which was the seat of power in India prior to the capital moving to Delhi; then to Burma & finally to Singapore which was being established by Sir Stamford Raffles as the free port to trade with China, Malaya, India, Arabia & Europe.

Baghdad Jews continued to carry forward their Baghdadi origins of wearing turbans and long flowing coats, and speaking in Arabic (most Sephardic Jews did not speak English at all but remained incredibly successful conducting business in Arabic, Malay and Hindustani).

In comparison, the latter wave of migrants - the Ashkanazi Jews, who came to Singapore from Germany, Russia and other parts of Europe, wore Western dress and spoke English and other European languages. Intermingling among the 2 Jewish communities was not common.

By 1902, the Jewish community in Singapore had reached almost 500. Manasseh Meyer, a noted businessman & philanthropist, decided to undertake the construction of a new synagogue. He commissioned Regent Alfred John Bidwell of Swann & MacLaren, to design the place of worship.

Chesed-El Synagogue opened for services in 1905. During Japanese occupation, the synagogue services were discontinued and many Jews were interned. Chesed-El fell into disrepair and following the end of the war, a number of Jews emigrated to Israel, Australia, England and the US.

After years of restoration, the synagogue finally reopened in 2002, and supports a small yet successful diaspora of about 2000 people from the Jewish community in Singapore.

Born in Baghdad and raised in Calcutta, Sir Manasseh Meyer came to Singapore to further his education at St Josephs Institution. He commissioned R.A.J. Bidwell, the architect of the famed Raffles Hotel to build Chesed-El Synagogue.

Chesed-El Synagogue in Singapore is situated atop a hill with vistas of the city and the sea. The name in Hebrew means "bountiful mercy and goodness of G-d"

The holy Torah scrolls and Rabbi Jean Pierre Fettmann - a man of such immense faith and humility, I have never known any one like him before.

Chesed-El Synagogue does have a sense of humour - I was told that a Shabbath service is a very noisy affair as families meet and socialise at the synagogue so it is virtually impossible to have silence in a synagogue.

So there you have it - a journey of #BaghdadiJews from Babylonia to Asia. There are many synagogues in #Iran as well as in #HongKong. The Iranian Jews are believed to have turned down the offer by Benjamin Netenyahu to return to Zion. Many Jews call Iran, home.