(PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE)

Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities has announced it will be spending 40 million Egyptian lira ($2.2 million) for what it calls a “comprehensive restoration” of the Eliyahu HaNavi Shul in Alexandria; also known in Egypt as the Jewish Temple in Alexandria. The structure was closed a number of months ago following a partial ceiling collapse.

The Egyptian media adds that while the law compels the local Jewish community to incur the expense of the restoration, the Ministry has announced it will undertake the project as well as the funding, and work is expected to being in the immediate future after the Ministry’s board gives it final approval.

The 160-year-old shul has 700 seats and remains one of the largest shuls in the Mideast. It is the last remaining shul in Alexandria, and it once proudly served the local community which numbered 50,000 Jews.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photo Credit: ישראל אדיר)