The great fire in Adrianople in 1905 destroyed more than 1,500 houses and also damaged several synagogues in the city. The twenty-thousand-strong Jewish community was in urgent need of a synagogue. After permission from the Ottoman Empire government and a decree from Sultan Abdul Hamid II, construction of a new synagogue began on January 6, 1906, on the site of the destroyed Major and Pulya synagogues in Surichi. It was designed by the French architect Franz Depré in the architectural style of the Sephardic Leopoldstädter Tempel in Vienna, Austria. It cost 1,200 gold coins and was opened for service on the eve of Passover (Pesach) in April 1909. Capable of accommodating up to 1,200 worshippers (900 men and 300 women), it was the third largest temple in Europe and the largest in Turkey.
In 1983, the synagogue was abandoned after most of the Jewish community left the city, emigrating to Israel, Europe, or North America. In 1995, by law, the temple came under the control of the Turkish State Institute for the Preservation of Historical Buildings.
The abandoned and ruined synagogue, along with its annex, was restored over five years, costing £5,750,000 (approximately 2.5 million US dollars).
On March 26, 2015, the synagogue was reopened with a celebration and the morning Shacharit prayer, attended by a large number of Jews, including Ishak Ibrahimzadeh (leader of the Jewish community in Turkey), Rabbi Naftali Haleva, deputy Hakham Bashi (Chief Rabbi) Ishak Haleva, Bülent Arınç, Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey, and some other high-ranking Turkish officials. Rabbi David Azuz, who led the service on the final day 36 years earlier, observed the service. The Edirne municipality hung a banner on the synagogue street welcoming guests with the words "Welcome home, our old neighbors."
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Synagogue_of_Edirne
