Bukharim

The Bukharan Quarter (Hebrew: שכונת הבוכרים‎‎, Shkhunat HaBukharim), known in vernacular Heblish as Bukharim Quarter, is a neighborhood in the center of Jerusalem. Many of the residents today are Haredi Jews. The quarter borders Tel Arza on the west, the Shmuel HaNavi neighborhood on the north, Arzei HaBira on the east and Geula on the south.

The first immigrants of Bukharan Jews from Russian Turkestan (Central Asia) settled in Jerusalem in the 1870s and 1880s. They bought land and employed architect Conrad Schick to design a neighborhood for them. In 1890, seven members of the Bukharan Jewish community formed the Hovevei Zion Association of the Jewish communities of Bukhara, Samarkand and Tashkent. In 1891, the association drew up a charter stating that the new quarter would be built in the style of Europe's major cities. The streets were three times wider than other streets in Jerusalem at the time, and spacious mansions were built with large courtyards. The homes were designed with neo-Gothic windows, European tiled roofs, neo-Moorish arches and Italian marble. Facades were decorated with Jewish motifs such as the Star of David and Hebrew inscriptions.

In 1905-1908, a dairy was opened and cotton fields were planted on the outskirts of the neighborhood. Construction of the quarter continued into the early 1950s. A total of 200 houses were built. During World War I, the Turkish army occupied several buildings and cut down almost all of the trees.

In 1920, a factory for weaving Persian carpets opened, providing employment for 80 women.

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