Believers gather in Dijerba for the Jewish pilgrimage to Giribah

AA / Djerba (Tunisia)

Hundreds of Jewish pilgrims from around the world come to the Giribah Church on Wednesday on the island of Dijerba (Medinine Governorate) in southeastern Tunisia to pray, light candles and sing. Jewish procession.

The Guardian, Khodeir Hannah, told the Anadolu Agency (AA) that as of this afternoon, nearly 2,000 visitors had arrived at the tiny prayer chapel covered with tiles with white and blue painted columns.

Nearly 4,000 pilgrims from fifteen countries are expected to attend this unavoidable religious event.

The Griba Pilgrimage is at the center of the Tunisian heritage of no more than 1,500 Jewish believers, most of whom settled in Djerba.

Albert, a 60-year-old French Jew, told AA: “My visit to the Giriba synagogue is very important to me (…) I could not come last year, but I wanted to be there this year.”

On the first day, pilgrims perform several rituals to the left of the synagogue, lighting candles and writing their wishes on eggs.

To the right of the oldest synagogue in Africa, ceremonies take place, marked by sounds and songs.

The start of the Jewish Pilgrimage to Kiribati was presented in the presence of President Najla Bowden, with a press release from the Government Presidency by René Trabelsi, President of the Giriba Association, President of the Jewish Community of Djerba, Perஸ்s Trabelsi and former Minister of Tourism.

On this occasion, Bowden inspected the security system put in place to protect the 2,400-year-old site and declared: “The Jewish Pilgrimage to Kripa is a great and ancient religious event, proving that Tunisia is a land of peace and tolerance. Transparency and coexistence.”

Perez Trafelsi, for his part, thanked the Tunisian authorities for “using all means to guarantee the success of this important event.”

“The large crowd on the Jewish pilgrimage foretells a promising tourist season,” said the head of the Jewish community in Djerba.

* Translated by Majdi Ismail from Arabic

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