Museum of Mountain Jews

High in the Azerbaijani foothills of the Greater Caucasus Mountains, about two and a half hours northwest of Baku, lies Red Village, a centuries-old, shetl-like, Jewish community in the middle of a predominantly Muslim country. Characterized by its red-tiled roofs, this 290-year-old town is home to the world's only Museum of Mountain Jews. Inside the early 20th-century Karchogi synagogue, which was repurposed as a warehouse during its 71-year Soviet closure, the new museum sheds light on a dwindling insular community within a Muslim-majority country. Visitors explore 2,000 years of history through touch-screen maps, testimonials, Mountain Jewish music and carpet weavings, and prized artifacts including a copy of the “Slashed Book,” a centuries-old Torah used by a local rabbi to ward off Iranian general Nadir Shah’s sword—symbolizing a turning point in interfaith relations. It also aspires to build the world’s largest Juhuri library to safeguard the Mountain Jews’ unique Persian dialect. “We opened the museum to showcase our rich history and welcome everyone,” says museum director Igor Shaulov. “This dispelled the misconception of a closed community, and now visitors have a much better understanding of our people.” At its height, says Shaulov, Red Village’s population reached an estimated 18,000 in 1920. Because of extensive emigration, today’s population is about 3,200, but its spirit endures. Travelers can step inside the still-working Six Dome and Gilaki synagogues and visit a mikvah and cemeteries via museum-arranged tours; by advance request, the museum can also arrange a meal featuring Mountain Jewish specialties like the frittata-esque khoyagusht. The number of visitors has doubled since last year, with groups from Pakistan, Indonesia, Argentina, and Brazil all marveling at this example of strength and religious coexistence. Shaulov hopes to eventually convert four defunct synagogues in Red Village into art galleries and other cultural spaces designed to celebrate the Mountain Jews’ compelling heritage.

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