Above is a muslum mosque and a Jewish Synagogue on Kaiser Street in Paramaribo Suriname, side by side. When I traveled to Suriname, I fell in love with Paramaribo, their capital city, a city which upon early exploration, I discovered a Muslim Mosque right beside a Jewish Synagogue!! Head to King Street/ Kaiser Street/ Keizerstraat in the city centre. It’s less than a 5 minute walk from the waterfront. Paramaribo is an un-ventured gem of a city in fact and has loads of quirky things, such as the Sunday bird singing Tweetyfest!
1. The Neveh Shalom Jewish Synagogue
The Neveh Shalom Synagogue sits proudly behind gates and overlooking a large garden. It’s on the right hand side of Keizerstraat as you head away from the waterfront part of Paramaribo. The Synagogue is much older than the Mosque, with the current building dating back to 1843.
2. The Mosque Keizerstraat
Bearing the simple name of Mosque Keizerstraat, this mosque in Paramaribo is a wonderful work of art and gleams in gardens, fronted by fences bearing islamic symbols. This is the largest Mosque in the Caribbean, which Suriname is a part of despite its geographical position on the main continent of South America. The Mosque was opened in 1984.
To see these excellent, well maintained religious buildings sitting side by side in harmony here is quite astounding.
Jonny Blair is a self confessed traveling nomad who founded and blogs at Don’t Stop Living. He sees every day as an adventure. Since leaving behind his home town of Bangor in Northern Ireland ten years ago he has traveled to all seven continents, working his way through various jobs and funding it all with hard work and an appetite for travel. Don’t Stop Living, a lifestyle of travel’ contains over 1,000 stories and tips from his journeys round the globe. He wants to show others how easy it is to travel the world, give them some ideas and encourage them to do the same but most of all he aims to constantly live a lifestyle of travel. He is currently based in Hong Kong and on Twitter @jonnyblair.
