The Synagogue of Ben Ezra in Cairo was originally named El-Shamieen Church, and is situated today 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. Yet, It is believed that the site of the Synagogue where the box of Baby Moses was found.

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.

It is built in the shape of a basilica (rectangle), consisting of 2 floors; the 1st dedicated to the men while the 2nd is dedicated to the women. The entrance is situated on the north side.