The former director of the Butrint National Park, Auron Tare, has raised the alarm about the works being carried out in Saranda, which threaten the destruction of the Jewish Synagogue of the 5th century. Tare writes that Albania boasts of saving the Jews during World War II, but on the other hand, it is allowing the Synagogue, which is the second oldest in the Balkans, to be endangered.
By publishing a video on Facebook, the researcher informs that in the historical center of the ancient city of Saranda, excavations are being carried out that damage the cultural heritage, while he recalled how in 1997 Prime Minister Fatos Nano at the time demolished all the kiosks to given historical monumental value to the ancient Synagogue.
Tara’s reaction:
We have often seen how Albanian politicians in world forums boast of a historical event of the Second World War: the rescue of the Jews.
Recent events have aligned our politics on the side of the Israeli state, clearly defending the values of the Israeli people.
But, while we talk and take pride in international forums about the help we have given to the Jews, not more than two or three days ago, the works to fix the Center of Saranda started. I can say that in my 30 years of experience in this city, I have seen a lot of adjustments that rip off previous adjustments and make new ones. Even these adjustments did not break the rule. Not far from the works of 2018, they are now being rearranged. However, I can’t talk about these sit-adjustments upon sit-adjustments.
Someone higher up knows this job better than I do.
And while they are trying to make the city as beautiful and as livable as possible (for tourists) with the 2018 repairs and cobblestone removal, bulldozers and hammers are digging in the historic center of the Ancient City of Saranda.
As you can clearly see in these videos, the hammer excavates no more than 20-30 meters from the ruins of the 5th century Ancient Synagogue and only a few meters from the City Walls. The surrounding walls, which until the declaration of the Albanian state, were still standing and preserved for their beauty, were destroyed by the independent Albanians in these 100-odd years.
But let’s talk about what started the conversation. The Ancient Synagogue of Saranda discovered by the Sarandio archaeologist Dr. Costa Lako in the 80s. In 1997, it was surrounded by buildings and kiosks, which the Prime Minister of that time, Fatos Nano, razed, giving the city a monumental historical value. Nano himself, according to his testimony, did not think that such an action had aroused sympathy and appreciation from many Jewish circles, who considered this act as a great responsibility to their cultural heritage. I can add that the Synagogue of Saranda is the second earliest Jewish Temple in the Balkans and a proof of an early Jewish presence in the Roman Balkans. 8 years ago, the Albanian-American underwater research expedition discovered not far from Saranda Bay an ancient ship with amphorae produced in Ancient Judea. Sunken more or less in the same period as the Synagogue, this discovery has created a historical link of the Jewish community in Ioannina, who quote one of their legends that “they are descendants of the shipwrecked sailors of a ship coming from Judea and the storm drowned him in the bay of Onchezm Antik”.
With the clearing of the ruins by the Nano government, the Hebrew University in 2003, sent two of its most important archaeologists, who together with Dr. Etleva Nallbanin scientifically confirmed that the building discovered by Dr. Costa Lako was a Jewish temple with mosaics of a high standard. Many publications of the time, including New York Times, Washington Post, Harez, Archeology Magazine, National Geographic wrote about this important discovery in Saranda.
The ruins of the synagogue were rehabilitated and the surrounding walls of the Roman city were saved. But, in any case, the heavily damaged area always brought surprises, and with every excavator bucket that sank into the ground, it brought out inscriptions, ancient tombs and many other objects. For this reason, the Republic of Albania also has a law that prohibits works of any kind in areas of archaeological importance without the presence of archaeologists and without a preliminary archaeological survey.
Meanwhile, as you can see in the video, the hammer continues to dig next to the Jewish synagogue, the second oldest in the Balkans.
Modern Saranda is actually one of the earliest settlements of Ancient Epirus. Mentioned as the place where Aeneas and other Trojan Icanaks erected a temple in honor of Aeneas’ father Anchismus, it is mentioned by former Roman Consul Cicero in his writings. Surrounded by high Romano-Byzantine walls until 1849, still standing and with tall towers depicted in a wonderful landscape by the British painter Edward Lear. The gateway to all the historical events of 2,000 years ended up in a handful of concrete blocks. Concrete, which is being poured unsparingly over the fixes of the previous fixes of each administration.
Post link:
https://www.facebook.com/auron.tare.9/posts/10230043106797624?ref=embed_pos
