(Other names: El-Geniza Synagogue, El-Yaho church) The Synagogue of Ben Ezra was originally named El-Shamieen Church, and is situated behind the “hanging church”. The Synagogue once had an old copy of the Old Testament, and it was said that Ezra the Prophet (Al-Azir) had written it. It is believed that the site of the Synagogue was where the box of Baby Moses was found. ”. In the Encyclopaedia Britannica, a Synagogue is described as “A prayer place for the Jews” . In old Greek it means: “ The usual place where the Jews assemble to receive religious teachings and to worship ” Some of these Temples were built close to a source of water, as much as for protection from any attack, not just for ablution! The Ben Ezra Synagogue was originally a Christian church that the Copts had to sell, to the Jews, in 882A.D in order to pay the annual taxes imposed by the Muslim rulers of the time, and therefore Abraham Ben Ezra, who came from Jerusalem during the reign of Ahmed Ibn Tulun, bought the church for the sum of 20,000 dinars. Through the centuries, the Synagogue received extensive restorations and renovations until it reached its present state. The present building dates back to 1892; the original one had collapsed and a new one was built, echoing it.