Auteur : SemtobFK
Date de création : 06-06-2008
TAYFUN TANER. A DISTINGUISHED ARCHITECT.
Izmir may become next Jewish tourist attraction in Turkey
Haim Shapiro, Jerusalem Post, November 5, 2002 - Jewish sites in the Turkish city of Izmir could become major tourist attractions, according to one of the participants in a recent Israeli academic survey of the Mediterranean port. Archeology student Aharon Greener, who is to participate in a seminar on Wednesday at Bar-Ilan University on the ancient treasures of the Jewish community of Izmir, said a major project is underway to preserve these sites and make them accessible to visitors. Greener said that during the visit to Izmir, members of the local Jewish community, as well as non-Jewish experts, frequently compared their city to Prague, where the Jewish Quarter has become a major attraction for Jewish and non-Jewish tourists alike.
Greener said that Prof. Tayfun Taner, a distinguished Turkish architect who has been entrusted with the restoration of the old city of Izmir, is planning a Jewish trail through the city, taking in synagogues, the old cemetery with the grave of famed Rabbi Haim Palagi, and a distinctive ritual bath. A synagogue which has already collapsed is to be transformed into a Jewish museum, Greener said.
He added that 100 years ago Izmir had at least 28 functioning synagogues, but today those that remain are in imminent danger of collapse, along with many other buildings in the old Jewish quarter. Before World War II, the city had 55,000 Jews but today there are only 2,000. He said most of the endangered synagogues are no longer in use, but contain rare and valuable furnishings, as well as books and manuscripts. Greener said that despite concern over Turkey's election of a government in which a Muslim party has the majority, members of the Izmir Jewish community stressed that they got along very well with their Muslim neighbors.
|