Tag #124589 - Interview #78517 (Leon Yako Anzhel)

The Jewish quarter was near Rakovski Street, which was the main street, the so-called promenade in Yambol. At that time the Jewish community in Yambol was pretty big. For example, my father had both Jewish and Bulgarian friends but most of his friends were Bulgarians. Jews used to inhabit other parts of Yambol, too, they didn’t live in the Jewish quarter only, like the Bulgarians, some of whom had houses in the Jewish quarter.

In the Jewish quarter there used to be a Jewish public bathhouse and school, which was next to the synagogue. My father wasn’t a religious person but I remember that they organized a bar mitzvah for me. I can’t say anything about the circumstances at this ritual. I don’t remember anything.