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Safuf, Yemen
The village of Safuf, سافوف, Yemen.
Description
The village of Safuf, Yemen. It was about a 3 hour walk to Tawilah, the closest city. There were approximately 12-15 Jewish houses in Safuf. The village had 2 synagogues, Knis Bayt Najar and Knis Bayt Ishak. The Knis Bayt Ishak was located in the house of Sa'eed. Knis Bayt Najar was attached to the Najar house. There was a school and a mikveh attached to the synagogue. Yihya Najar was the religious functionary in the city, doing marriages, slaughtering meat, circumcising etc. When he moved to Tawilah, his brother Sa'eed became the religious leader but Yihya would come to do circumcisions and marriage because Sa'eed didn't do that.
Jewish houses in Safuf were at most 3 stories high because the Moslems would not let them build higher.
The water source was 2 hours away by foot. The area was very dry.
People in Safuf were buried in a Jewish cemetery near an Arab village about an hour away. Women would follow men to the cemetery.
Safuf, Yemen
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Sources
Batia Nagar grew up in the village and speaks about it in her interview. The village is mentioned on p. 384-5 of the Encylopedia of the Jewish Communities of Yemen, אנציקלופדיה לקהילות היהודיות בתימן, published by Machon Leheker Hachmei Teiman.