Djerba Jews pray on a sultry Friday afternoon in one of Hara Kebira's fourteen active synagogues.

Hara Kebira was once among several Jewish villages on the island of Djerba, off the coast of Tunisia, where the Jewish community first settled 2600 years ago during the Babylonian Exile. Today, Hara Kebira is not only the last predominantly Jewish village on the island -- it is the last one in North Africa. The village's existence recalls a former age, as does its lifestyle. While these men in traditional Djerba dress spend their hours in prayer and study, their wives are at home, preparing for Shabbat.

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