Bringing the Sounds Back to Etz Hayyim

An acoustic profile of a resurrected endangered space

Abstract

The Etz Hayyim, (the Tree of Life), is the only remaining synagogue on the island of Crete, Greece. It is located in Parodos Kondylaki in the old Jewish quarter of Hania, a town in the north-west of Crete with a population of around 60,000.

In 1995, the Synagogue was listed as one of the 100 most endangered monuments in the world. This paper traces the sounds that were experienced, heard, listened to, and recorded in the restored synagogue from the beginning of November 2010 until the end of April 2011, just nine months after two arson attacks severely damaged the buildings and its contents. These sounds and stories heard and recorded at Etz Hayyim are those of a special and diverse international Jewish community. The building and the people have a unique history, whose values and identity are embodied in the sounds heard.