Women were separated from men during services; a second-floor gallery was reserved for them. The gallery is located along the southern wall, having five broad openings looking down towards the ark of the Torah (called in the Sephardic tradition the hechal, hejal, heichal or heikal). The hechal developed a design innovation in the form of a great façade that had three vertical panels with a sebka motif in the center panel, as well as muqarnas cornices with vegetal and garden motifs.