Walking through the Budapest Jewish Quarter, it’s tough to miss this eye-catching structure.

Also tough for some people? Figuring out what it is.

According to the synagogue’s website, many mistake the building’s onion-shaped towers for the minarets of an Islamic mosque.

The Stars of David (see them?) that divide the circular windows reveal the building’s purpose, but it’s easy to see a strong Moorish influence in the synagogue’s design.

The style is also apparent — not surprisingly — in two Spanish temples: the Córdoba Synagogue and the Ibn Shushan Synagogue. Built in the 14th and 12th centuries, respectively, these two temples far predate their 19th century Hungarian counterpart.

Completed in 1859, the Dohany Street Synagogue seats almost 3,000 worshippers. It is second only to New York’s Temple El-Emanuel in size.

According to A View On Cities, Viennese architect Ludwig Förster planned the temple and Frigyes Feszl designed its interior, making room for a massive, 5,000-pipe organ.

I toured the temple last year. Our guide — a Budapest native who had spent enough time in New York to pick up a Yankees cap and a decent accent — seemed to anticipate ribbing about the pipe organ.

After all, why such a Christian fixture in a Jewish temple? He issued his rehearsed response preemptively:

“You don’t like it? Do me a favor. There are a hundred other temples in the country.  Go to one of them.”

Maybe I will, but that’ll be another post.