Musmeah Yeshua Synagogue Temple

Address: Musmeah Yeshua Synagogue, Maha Bandula Road area, Yangon (Rangoon), Myanmar

Admission: Donation suggested; small guided-tour fee may apply for services

Musmeah Yeshua Synagogue is a historic Jewish house of worship in Yangon, Myanmar, known as the country’s last active synagogue. It dates from the period of 19th-century Jewish settlement in Rangoon.

A single prayer hall with traditional Jewish fittings, community archival material and memorial plaques that reflect the history of the Baghdadi Jewish community in Myanmar. The building is visited both for religious services and as a cultural-historical site documenting Jewish life in Yangon.

The synagogue was established by members of the Jewish merchant community who settled in Rangoon in the 19th century and served as the communal center for worship and communal life. Over time the local Jewish population declined, but the synagogue has been maintained and restored as the surviving center of Jewish heritage in the country.

Located within central Yangon, the synagogue sits in the older downtown area and is accessible from major city thoroughfares.

• Unique status: Serves as the only functioning synagogue in Myanmar and is a focal point for the small local Jewish community and visiting international congregants.

Located in downtown Yangon near Maha Bandula Park and the Sule Pagoda area. From Yangon Central Railway Station or Sule Pagoda, it is a short taxi or trishaw ride; ask for the synagogue by name or show its Burmese name to drivers.

• Check visiting hours ahead - services and open hours can change due to community events or religious holidays.
• Observe respectfully; photographers should ask permission before photographing worshippers or religious objects.
• Speak with the caretaker if present - the synagogue's small archive and oral histories bring the building alive in ways the empty pews do not.