Harun Bozo with his friend Jojo Bati at Taksim Square

This photo is a souvenir from one of the days my friend Jojo Bati (on the left) and I went to the movies. The picture was taken at Taksim Square, Istanbul, in 1945 or 1946. On the back of the photo it says: This is a little souvenir for you - Your Son [Harun]. I came to Istanbul in 1943 because I wanted to study at Robert College, but I was too late for the exams. Others who had come from Urfa had gone to study at this school. My brother enrolled me in the St. Benoit Lycee. Then I started living with my brother. I graduated in 1948-49. My family was in Urfa. I used to go there and visit until 1945-46. However, after the Urfa Events, I didn't go there again. As I was the youngest, my mother was very attached to me and she would worry herself sick every time I came to Urfa. She didn't want me to go, so after 1946 I never went to Urfa again. After I finished the St. Benoit Lycee, I went to do my military service. My preparation regiment was in Bolayir, Gelibolu. We had a 60-day period of preparation. We used to go out on market leave on Saturdays and Sundays. At that time there was a Jewish community in Gelibolu and they had provided me with a 'home' paper, with which I was able to prove that I had a home to go to when on leave. My older brother had a partner called Eskenazi. They had a client in Gelibolu called Kandiyoti. I got my 'home' paper from them. So, on weekends, when I went out on leave I stayed either at a hotel or with the Kandiyotis. On Saturdays I went to the synagogue at Gelibolu.