Is there any record of Jewish traders visiting Vietnam between the
13th-17th century. I have recently visited the old trading town of
Hoian and thought I saw a building whose archetecture would be similar
to a synagogue

---

Request for Question Clarification by justaskscott-ga on 17 Feb 2003 09:28 PST

When you say the building's "archetecture would be similar to a
synagogue", what do you mean specifically?  Could you describe what
the building looked like, and any details about the building?

Also, do you remember where the building was located -- in other
words, what buildings, places, or streets were located around it?

Perhaps one of the Researchers will be able to identify which building
it was, even if it was not a synagogue.  Would that be a sufficient
answer?

---

Clarification of Question by annisa-ga on 17 Feb 2003 11:22 PST

The buildinhg I saw had the traditional style of 3 windows on the
second floof. No I don't remember the street. But it seems logical to
me if there was a history of European/ Portugal, Italian traders that
there was a Jewish community.
The question is,Is there any historic evidence of such a community.

Hello annisa,
It appears that the answer to your question is "no".  All references
to Hoi An (including Vietnamese websites, as I speak fluent
Vietnamese) indicate that its architecture was influenced by Chinese
and Japanese architecture.  The only Westerners who visited Hoi An
during the 15th century were the Dutch, Portuguese, and Italian.
After thousands of years of Diaspora, I would guess that it's the
Jewish architecture that were influenced by Western architecture, as
they assimilate into the cultures that they live in.
secret901-ga

You are correct the westerns who visited Hoian were the
Dutch,Portugese and Italians. And as we know a good percentage of the
above traders were sephardic Jews.
Thus my question is there any particular evidence that in Hoian these
Dutch,Portugese and Italians were Sephardic Jews,

Hi annisa-

I have been unable to find an online record of Jews in Hoi An during
the Middle Ages, however, there seems to be evidence that there
certainly COULD have been.
I have e-mailed a couple sources who may be able to help the
investigation but meanwhile here are some links that might be of
interest.


1400-1500 The Vietnamese from the north pushed the Chams south and
opened the port of Hoi An to foreign traders.
 (SFEC, 4/26/98, p.T4) 
http://timelines.ws/1400_1449.HTML


History of Hoi An, a World Heritage Site 
http://www.angelfire.com/vt/hongnam/hoianhistory.html
and here
http://www.nhandan.org.vn/english/landscape/19991205.html

This publication might have more information. 
Ancient Town of Hoi An, also from The Gioi Publishers of Hanoi (1993).
It can be purchased for $30 US at
http://www.thingsasian.com/goto_store/item_detail.833.html

Ancient Town of Hoi An is a collective effort resulting from an
international symposium held in Danang in 1990. The Ministry of
Culture, provincial authorities, and the Japan-Vietnam Friendship
Society organized the conference. Over 150 experts from Vietnam, the
Netherlands, Poland, Japan, Canada, Australia, and the USA presented
some 36 papers on Hoi An's geography, archaeology, history, culture,
linguistics, architecture, and preservation. After the conference
these papers were collected and published in Ancient Town of Hoi An.


 In its heyday Hoi An hosted a large foreign community, including
Japanese and Chinese merchants, Dutch representatives of the Dutch
East Indies Company, and Portuguese Jesuits. This fertile
cross-cultural mix produced an architecture unique to Hoi An'known
simply as "Hoi An Style"'that represents a blend of many different
architectural traditions.
http://www.thingsasian.com/goto_article/article.705.html

Article and photo links about Hoi An
http://www.geocities.com/faifo/

Nellie Bly
Google Answers Researcher

Here is the email response I got from one of the Hoi An experts.

Dear Nellie Bly--

I've never heard of a Jewish community in Hoi An and
am dubious about there ever having been a synagogue
there.  I can't rule the possibility out, though,
given that when Hoi An was at its peak as a trading
port it had an international community that included
people from all over the world.  So I guess what I'm
saying is that I can't give you any definitive answer
to your question.  Sorry I can't be or more help!

Steve Bailey
travel writer for thingsasian.com