Tbilisi · GE

Great Synagogue

Tucked into the winding lanes of Tbilisi's Old Town, the Great Synagogue (დიდი სინაგოგა) is the largest and principal house of worship for Georgia's Jewish community—a centuries-old people often counted among the oldest Jewish diasporas on earth. Built in red brick between 1904 and 1911 by Georgian Jews who had migrated from the southern town of Akhaltsikhe, it is far more than a preserved relic: it remains a living, functioning synagogue, welcoming worshippers and curious visitors alike. Set behind a small courtyard and a broad flight of stone steps on what was once Leselidze Street (now Kote Afkhazi Street), the building is a quiet emblem of Tbilisi's long tradition of religious tolerance, where synagogues, churches, a mosque and a Zoroastrian fire temple have stood within earshot of one another for generations. For travelers tracing Jewish heritage or simply soaking up the layered history of the old capital, it is one of the city's most rewarding—and most human—stops.