Recife Antigo

The old quarter occupies an island between the Capibaribe and the port, and it holds the Kahal Zur Israel synagogue, founded by Sephardic Jews during the Dutch period in the 1630s and the earliest synagogue in the Americas - excavated and rebuilt as a museum, with the original mikveh exposed under glass. When the Portuguese retook Pernambuco in 1654 the community dispersed, and part of it reached New Amsterdam, which is how the first Jewish settlement in what became New York traces back to this street. Rua do Bom Jesus outside is a row of restored merchant houses. Recife's Carnival opens here with the Galo da Madrugada, a bloco that draws crowds counted in the hundreds of thousands, and frevo is the music throughout.

History

Old Recife is the first Portuguese settlement of the 16th century around the port, through which Pernambuco's sugar was shipped to Portugal while Olinda was the capital. The Dutch took Pernambuco in 1630, set Olinda partly on fire and made Recife their seat, and Count John Maurice of Nassau-Siegen built a new town, Mauritsstadt, on a neighbouring island; when the Dutch were forced out in 1654, the flourishing Jewish community had to leave too, and a group of 24 of them sailed north to New Amsterdam, today's Manhattan, from Rua do Bom Jesus, once the Street of the Jews, where the Kahal Zur Israel synagogue, the first in the Americas, stands (Wikipedia, Recife Antigo).

What you'll find

• Kahal Zur Israel - the first synagogue in the Americas, with its mikveh exposed.
• Rua do Bom Jesus - restored merchant houses along the old commercial street.
• The Galo da Madrugada - the bloco that opens Carnival from this quarter.
• A port island - bridges, warehouses and the harbour edge.

When to go

September to March; Carnival for the Galo. Half a day.

Good to know

The district is lively at weekends and during events and dead on weekday evenings, when care is needed. The synagogue museum is small and keeps limited hours. Much of the quarter outside the restored streets is still derelict.

Nearby

Olinda is a short ride north; Brennand's museums are on the city's western edge.

Key facts