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LENS B · PEOPLE & PLACES · THE PLACE CANON

204 places. Each one chosen.

A curated, sourced canon of cities, towns, neighborhoods, and heritage sites, with living and historical communities clearly distinguished.

204 of 204

Israel

16 places

The land at the center, ancient homeland, modern ingathering.

Eastern Europe

36 places

The heartland that became a memory and a diaspora.

Mediterranean & Balkans

25 places

Sephardi harbors and Ottoman port cities, from Salonika to Sarajevo.

Middle East & North Africa

38 places

Two and a half millennia of Jewish life in Arabic- and Persian-speaking lands.

Dubai

Living

United Arab Emirates · Middle East & North Africa · City

Hebrew (עברית, Ivrit)
~1,500 (2023 · estimate)· Country total
✦
what survives →

Central Asia & the Caucasus

8 places

Mountain and Silk-Road communities at the edge of empires.

Central & Western Europe

21 places

Emancipation and enlightenment, catastrophe and renewal.

Americas

39 places

The great-migration destinations, from New York Harbor to Buenos Aires.

Rest of world

21 places

The far edges of the diaspora, documented, dated, and honored.

Kaifeng

K'ai-feng synagogue ("Temple of Purity and Truth")
Living · since 960

China · Rest of world · City

Hebrew (עברית, Ivrit)
~2,500 (1850 · estimate)· City proper
✦
what survives →
Land geometry: Natural Earth 1:50m via world-atlas. Pins mark modern localities or representative regional anchors stored on Atlas place records, not historical borders and not reconstructed positions.
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This canon is curated, which means it has edges. If a place that holds your family's story isn't here yet, that's the edge of the research, help us extend it.

Suggest a place for the canon Reviewed 2026-07-30

204 places · 40 communities · every estimate dated