Image
The whole family is gathered in the garden of American Constantinople College (Arnavutköy Amerikan Kiz Koleji), the day of graduation for my older sister Mireille’s (Mirey) daughter Emel (Pupu) Güzelbahar.
Since I am not in the picture, I probably took it.
My father Albert Avram Anjel was born in 1881 in Salonica. He came to Istanbul with his family in 1889 and settled in Haydarpasa. He started his education in the Galata Jewish primary school and continued in Galatasaray Lisesi (highschool) 3 and obtained his baccalaureate from this school. He passed the test given by Duyun-u umumiye Idaresi, a government agency in the Ottoman empire, and started working as an assistant to the principal in the French department. The principal was continually making grammatical mistakes in French in the letters he wrote. When my father couldn't restrain himself and warned him one day, the principal had him transferred to another department the following day. My father, since he did not like to work as a subordinate, resigned and founded a school with instructions in Turkish, French and German. I do not remember if the school had a name, he was known everywhere as "Professeur Anjel". The graduates of this place were appointed to either the Senate or the directors' board of various institutions.
In the meantime he tutored the daughter of Sultan Resat. As a coincidence, when Sultan Resat died the week I was born, they wanted to name me Resat, but my father preferred naming me after his father.
In the 50th year of his teaching career, he was given the honor of "Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques" by France for his contributions to the French culture.
My father's mother tongue was Turkish. He did not have the opportunity to go to the military because non-Muslims were not yet accepted in the military at that time.
My father who was slightly tall had a moustache smaller than medium. When he died at the age of 77, his moustache was still black as ever. The middle part of his hair had thinned out a bit, the sides were curly
My second older sister Mireille (Meri) was born in 1914. After finishing Haydarpasha Jewish highschool's junior high department, she continued in the American Constantinople College (American Girls' Highschool) and was married in the Zülfaris Synagogue to Robert Güzelbahar in 1933, she had two daughters. Ezel who we call Dolly, and Emel who we call Pupu. Both of them are graduates of the American College like their mother.
Emel(Pupu) married a doctor, Paul Glicsman inNew York. Her husband died, she continues her life in New York. Currently she is the mother of three daughters.
Mireille's husband Robert Güzelbahar died in New York in 1965. Mireille later married Axel Axelrad in 1968 and currently lives in New York..
