H

Hania

Parallel Points of View:

Heritage and Intercultural Dialogue.

20 -26 October 2019

How do a Byzantine drawing of Muslim invaders, a family photograph preserved in today’s Turkey, a somewhat worn out mascot toy of the 2004 Olympic Games, a bowl of Cretan mountain greens and a small orange plastic boat together create a kaleidoscopic view of modern-day Hania? The exhibition, “Parallel Points of View: Heritage and Intercultural Dialogue. Heritage Contact Zone, Hania” (20-26 October 2019) attempted to answer this question.

The exhibition provided a glimpse into present-day Hania; it aimed to address whether and how today’s society associates itself with the long and multilayered history of the city, and of the island more widely. Fifty diverse objects were chosen by fifty participants who also recounted the stories behind these objects during a series of workshops. The participants broadly represent ten different points of view that reflect perspectives not usually included in the mainstream narrative. A number of these items and their stories were juxtaposed with modern art objects created by local artists especially for this exhibition as a response to the specific narrative.

To quote the exhibition curator, Konstantin Fischer: “It is our goal to show the richness of the existing cultural diversity in our specific, as well as wider, area and to present this rich cultural diversity to the general public as an opportunity for Hania, Crete and Greece. We aim to build bridges given that currently cultural stereotypes tend to divide the population.” Already in the workshops with participants from various social groups, this construction of bridges began and was facilitated by the inclusive approach taken by the curating artist. This approach was continued when the exhibition was on display for one week. Visitors were invited to participate, share their own stories and reflect in interactive ways on the nature and interplay of parallel narratives and perspectives in order to appreciate them as enriching “parallel points of view”.

PARALLEL POINTS OF VIEW

Hania

Crete: an island with more than 5,000 years of rich and diverse recorded history. Which parts of the narrative, which perspectives form our identities, which parts of the narrative are forgotten, how did they disappear? To which point can we choose the ways in which we see ourselves, how does our perception depend on others? Our acceptance of otherness: how far does it go, and how is it linked to the perception of ourselves, to our culture, to our times?
Fifty objects, fifty testimonies from 2019, linked to the city of Hania, Crete, Greece.

Many different civilizations have passed through Crete. However, I don’t know how people felt back then, how they perceived the world. While looking at a manuscript miniature dating to the 12th or 13th century that depicts a scene of 9th century fighters calling themselves ‘Cretans’ who are fighting the ‘Romans’ (or the ‘Byzantines’ as we would call them today), I understand that this whole situation is incomprehensible to me. How exactly is a person’s identity connected to the time or period in which they live? Am I capable of understanding a person who has grown up in a different era or in a different civilization or under different circumstances, altogether? Do I accept dissimilarities? Do I sympathize, do I communicate, do I comprehend? How much do I want that? Can I do that? Up to which point does this ‘other’ allow me to do that? This photograph contains material from the book GRAECO-ARABICA, Ad Cretam Dedicata, volume XI. © 2011 MUNICIPALITY OF HERAKLION – VIKELAIA LIBRARY AND THE INSTITUTE FOR GRAECO-ORIENTAL AND AFRICAN STUDIES

Horta (ot in Turkish) is always related to fond memories, bringing a smile to my face, wherever I am. More than a half-century ago, in Ankara, Turkey’s capital in the middle of Anatolia, miles from all seas, my grandma is in an empty lot, with a knife in her hand, picking, digging, pulling. Years later, an aunt comes to visit our new flat in Istanbul, looks out, and asks for an old knife and plastic bag, rushing out to pick, dig and pull. The same aunt calls and invites me and my brother and our families to a Sunday lunch, adding in an excited voice that she found maratha at a laiki, which she cooked with mutton as the main dish. Me and my brother, both adults, fighting over that last forkful of the blessed horta. Finding radicchio for the first time at a laiki and buying only one kilo because I live with my young son who I believe will not like the rather acrid taste, then watching him consume the lot, and buying five kilos the next time. While at school, my son being given homework to bring food prepared in the traditional way of their families into class, he then deciding to and preparing radicchio salad to distribute to his classmates. And of course, my never getting enough stamnagathi whenever I am in Crete, and always giving the same answer to the question of visiting friends from the island about what they should bring, “stamnagathi, paksimadia and mizithra”.

Faith, Shahada The Shahada or Shahadatayn, usually recited in Arabic, lā ʾilāha ʾillā-llāhu muḥammadun rasūlu-llāh (لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا الله مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ الله) is the Islamic declaration of faith and trust which states that there is only one God (Allah) and that Muhammad is God’s messenger. Muslims believe that the Shahadatain is our Muftah ul Jannah, the “Key to Paradise”. For more than 1400 years, Muslims, Christians and Jews have been living together and yet, it seems that we actually know very little about one another. This lack of knowledge on all sides manifests an abundance of stereotypes and mistrust. Most non-Muslims in the West don’t even know about the basics of our religion: the five pillars of Islam.

There is archaeological evidence of a continued Jewish presence on the island of Crete since Hellenistic times. However, so far, very few items have been recovered that were used by the last Jewish community of Hania who were deported by the Wehrmacht during the German Occupation in WW II and who died on their way to Auschwitz. Next to nothing from their homes, and only a few random objects from the Sephardi synagogue have been found. From Hania’s Romaniote synagogue, nothing except for this set of rimonim, Torah finals, an adornment for the lost Torah scrolls. They were found buried in the south courtyard during the restoration of Etz Hayyim prior to its re-dedication in 1999

My name is Iossif, but my friends and family call me Sifis. Athena called me Sifalio. Athena. A flower born on this island. She taught me how to love this land, to become a Haniot. I grew up with the smells, as well as the fairy tales of Crete, as Athena recounted them to me. She was practically illiterate, but she possessed a natural wisdom. Speaking with her was like speaking with a philosopher. She was endlessly kind towards everyone and never spoke ill against anyone. During the German Occupation of Crete, my family split into three factions: my parents were hiding with Konstantinos Sfakianakis’ family, while my sister was hidden by Evangelia Georgiadou. Athena Varvataki, fully conscious of the danger she faced by presenting me as her illegitimate son – of course that was a stigma during that period – stayed with me in a big house in Ekali. Athena was the woman who mothered me during the war, the woman who saved my life.

Why is it that a gypsy cannot work as a waiter? I like music, yes, I do, but why is it that I don’t have other options? Why don’t the Balamé accept us taking the jobs they offer? Γιατί ένας Τσιγγάνος δεν μπορεί να δουλεύει σερβιτόρος; Μου αρέσει η μουσική, δεν λέω, γιατί όμως δεν έχω άλλη επιλογή για δουλειά; Γιατί δεν μας δέχονται στη δική τους τη δουλειά οι Μπαλαμέ;

From a young age, I enjoyed expressing myself through fiction. I loved the freedom that came with the wide, expansive worlds, and often played video games where the main character was a cool hero with special powers and many friends, because that was who I aspired to be as a kid. You could also choose your gender – and despite being assigned female at birth, I would almost always choose to be a boy. I didn’t think about gender much at the time, but there was a level of discomfort at being seen as a girl – presenting itself in rejection of stereotypically feminine things like dolls and makeup – and a feeling of euphoria that emerged whenever I could represent myself in a game as a boy or, rarely, genderless. It took me until my late teens to learn the terms “transgender” and “non-binary”, and to realize that these terms applied to me. Had I known it was possible, I would have placed myself outside the binary long ago.

This is a descripIf you show this to any woman, it is highly unlikely that she will identify with it simply because since she was a baby, no one has ever told her that it could be useful to her. Personally, I believe that a woman can, by all means, fix her motorbike. Αν δείξεις αυτό το αντικείμενο σε οποιαδήποτε γυναίκα, είναι πολύ απίθανο να το αναγνωρίσει, απλά επειδή από μωρό δεν της έχει πει κανείς ότι θα μπορούσε να της είναι χρήσιμο. Προσωπικά πιστεύω ότι μια γυναίκα μια χαρά μπορεί να φτιάξει το μηχανάκι της.

Having lived in different countries, I now know that nationality does not say anything about me as a person. For me, finding a beloved German book in a Greek Café with Greek notes in it says much more. My national background doesn’t say anything about the person I am. Rather, I am what gives me a sense or feeling of passion.

Έχοντας ζήσει σε διαφορετικές χώρες γνωρίζω πλέον ότι η εθνικότητα δεν φανερώνει τίποτα για το άτομό μου. Για μένα, το να βρίσκω ένα αγαπημένο μου γερμανικό βιβλίο σε ένα ελληνικό καφέ με σημειώσεις στα ελληνικά, σημαίνει πολύ περισσότερα πράγματα. Η εθνικότητα από την οποία προέρχομαι δεν λέει τίποτα για το άτομό μου. Περισσότερο είμαι αυτό που κάθε φορά μου δίνει μία αίσθηση πάθους.

This iI watch the tourists swimming in the sea and I remember our children drowning in the Aegean. Βλέπω τους τουρίστες να κάνουν μπάνιο στη θάλασσα και θυμάμαι τα δικά μας παιδιά που πνίγονται στο Αιγαίο. s a description

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Hania

Parallel Points of View:

Heritage and Intercultural Dialogue.

20 -26 October 2019

PARALLEL POINTS OF VIEW

Hania

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