Turkey: Restoration begins on Etz Hayim synagogue in Izmir

The work will include full restoration of the walls, roof, wall paintings, and flooring, Nesim Bencoya of  the Izmir Project told JHE. He said the restoration is expected to end by January 2021. 

He said work had gotten under way after an agreement with the Agency and the contractor was signed. The project will include a consultation service  arranged by the Kiriaty Foundation of Tel Aviv and provided by preservation architect Naor Mimar, he said. Restoration experts from Israel and Turkey have already met and consulted on how to proceed.

“The restoration of the Etz Hayim Synagogue will be an important milestone in the making of the Izmir Jewish Museum, and we hope that its restoration will open the way to a deeper recognition,” he said.

As we reported in October 2018, the Izmir Development Agency grant — which falls under the Agency’s Program for Preservation of Cultural Assets and Financial Support for their Revival — was contingent on $80,000 in matching funds be provided from other sources.

Bencoya said work has begun despite the fact that not all the matching funds have been secured. He said the Izmir Jewish Community Foundation and Kiriaty Foundation were engaged in raising these funds (the Kiriaty Foundation launched an appeal to this end last fall).

According to the Izmir Project, the synagogue could date back to the 14th or 15th centuries:

The prayer hall is one floor up and the entrance to it is through a hallway that was used in the past as a small religious school. Four original pillars that in the past surrounded the ark and reached the ceiling in an impressive structure dominate the center of the hall. Various holy verses adorn the ceiling of the ark and the synagogue hall. The holy chest is surrounded by a handsome wooden structure to which two additional chests, each on one side, were added at a later period. This synagogue also suffered over the years from natural disasters and went through many changes. Today the physical condition of the synagogue requires strict preservation. According to the tradition, Moslems who arrived in Izmir at the 14th and 15th century used this synagogue for prayer because of the absence of mosques in the city.