The interior of the Eliyahu HaNavi synagogue in Alexandria, Egypt. Photo: World Monuments Fund.

The Egyptian government confirmed on Friday that it will reopen a historic synagogue in the city of Alexandria next month.

The Eliyahu HaNavi synagogue in the Mediterranean port city that was home to a Jewish community of more than 20,000 in the mid-20th century has been undergoing a restoration process for the last three years.

A statement from Egypt’s minister of Antiquities, Khaled al-Anani, explained that the renovation work included “the structural reinforcement of the building, architectural and precise restoration of the main facades and the decorative walls, as well as wooden and copper elements in the temple.”

Eliyahu HaNavi is one of the two remaining synagogues in Alexandria. It was built in the 1850s but closed at the end of 2012 due to security concerns.

The temple was included in the 2018 Archeology List of the World Monuments Fund for Endangered Monuments.

According to its website, it is a “symbol of Egypt’s historical pluralism, when diverse national and religious communities lived together in a spirit of coexistence and religious freedom.”