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My sister Rejina who was born in 1922, apparently looks a lot like my mother. Her coloring too. She was a beautiful, dark-skinned girl. We had some separations during our childhood. One of my aunts was old [Ojeni]. She stayed with her. My sister went to the Jewish Highschool.
She was her mother’s daughter. She was a very good, organized student. She started working with a tailor daily, after finishing elementary school. She was already well known by the age of 20 and had become a skilled tailor.
She got married in July 1945, at the Zulfaris Synagogue [7], at the age of 25, my older sister. I had taken a leave of absence from the military and attended the wedding. They had taken a boat to Buyukada [the fourth and largest island in the Princess Island chains, south of Istanbul on the Marmara sea] that evening and stayed in a hotel.
They brought two daughters named Chela [1947] and Sara [1956] into the world. They are both fine and cultured today. They studied well. Until, their father died young. He died in 1976, at the age of 52, my brother-in-law. My older sister was widowed young. And we always lived close.
Her younger daughter was 10, elder daughter 19 years old. The younger girl finished highschool and married early. The older girl worked and married too, later. Rejina on the other hand continued working as a tailor. Her husband used to sell coats, she continued sewing coats on order.
She was her mother’s daughter. She was a very good, organized student. She started working with a tailor daily, after finishing elementary school. She was already well known by the age of 20 and had become a skilled tailor.
She got married in July 1945, at the Zulfaris Synagogue [7], at the age of 25, my older sister. I had taken a leave of absence from the military and attended the wedding. They had taken a boat to Buyukada [the fourth and largest island in the Princess Island chains, south of Istanbul on the Marmara sea] that evening and stayed in a hotel.
They brought two daughters named Chela [1947] and Sara [1956] into the world. They are both fine and cultured today. They studied well. Until, their father died young. He died in 1976, at the age of 52, my brother-in-law. My older sister was widowed young. And we always lived close.
Her younger daughter was 10, elder daughter 19 years old. The younger girl finished highschool and married early. The older girl worked and married too, later. Rejina on the other hand continued working as a tailor. Her husband used to sell coats, she continued sewing coats on order.
Period
Location
Beyoğlu/İstanbul
Türkiye
Interview
Nesim Levi