Güler Orgun

This is a picture of me, taken in Taksim, Istanbul in 1941. I was born in Istanbul on 23rd February 1937. I am an only child. My mother was 37 years old when she gave birth to me. When I was five months old, we moved to the Tas apt. at No. 33/1 in Taksim, Talimhane, Sehit Muhtar caddesi. I remember this well because we lived there till I was 23. When World War II started, I was barely three. What impressed me most then and has stuck in my memory, were the dark blue spring-roller blinds - we called them 'stors' - on the windows, which we had to pull down in the evenings in order to block out the lights. This was part of everyone's routine called 'black-out.' I still have those 'stors' which I keep in case they come in useful some day, because they were made of a very strong tarpaulin-like material. Of course, basic foods like bread and sugar were rationed, but - thanks to my parents' care - I was not affected by that. I never attended kindergarten, which made me feel deprived and was a source of frustration, because all my friends did.