The Ets Hayim Synagogue (Hebrew: בית הכנסת עץ חיים (מצרים)), also known as the Etz Haim Synagogue, the Hanan Synagogue, the Baroukh Hanan Synagogue or the Kenisset Hanan (Arabic: كنسة حنان; French: Temple Hanan), is a former Karaite[1]Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 3 Qantaret Street, in the Ghamra neighborhood of Daher, in Cairo, Egypt. The synagoge was completed in 1900.[2] The congregation worshipped in the Sephardicrite.[3]
History
Various sources attribute the building of the synagogue to Baroukh Hanan, or Hayim Hanan, or by Ibrahim (Abraham) Hanan,[4] and named after Baroukh Hanan.
The 3,500 m2 (38,000 sq ft) synagogue compound also has a yeshiva, a communal sukkah, and a mikveh,[3] although this has fallen into disrepair. Some of the marble flooring of the synagogue was damaged during the 1992 Cairo earthquake.
The synagogue is protected by the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, under Decree no. 2112 of 1973,[citation needed] and the synagogue is guarded by police.
According to Canadian-American architectural photographer, D.R. Cowles, the synagogue was last used was in 1967.[citation needed] Abandoned by the congregation, the site is administrated by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.[5]
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