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My maternal grandfather Bohor Avram Rodrik was born in Dimetoka in Greece. I don’t know the date. Afterwards he came and settled in Edirne. I don’t know how he came or why he came. My maternal grandfather dressed more simply, he didn’t take that much care. He did not have a moustache or beard, he was always shaved. He normally had a shirt inside his suit and in winters a short embroidered jacket over his shirt because he was out in the streets all day. He also wore a cap. He knew Turkish and Judeo-Spanish. They spoke Judeo-Spanish amongst themselves.
My grandfather did his military service in Syria, I do not know during which years. My mother used to tell that when she was around 5, her father went to the military to fight in the war, there probably was a war then, he stayed in the military for 4-5 years. When he returned diskempt with long hair and beard, my mother started crying from fear, not knowing who this man was. This is your father they told her and my mother did not believe them, my father cannot look like this, she said. Later on, he took care of himself, cut his hair and shaved his beard, looked like himself again.
My maternal grandfather used to carry flour to the bakeries with a horse and carriage for as long as I remember. His financial situation was quite good. He even carried his merchandise himself, to earn more money.
My maternal grandfather had a fickle personality, at times he was very cranky, they even called him “Bohoraci el Kufur” [Ladino for the firstborn curser]. It means cranky as far as I can understand. At times he behaved in a very tolerant manner especially towards us. When my brother Yasar was born, they used to live in the neighborhood just north of us, we used to live somewhere called Kaleici, he would come to see my mother every Saturday morning after temple, at the time my father would also be home because the store would not be opened on Saturdays and my father never opened his store on a Saturday until the day he died, my mother would sit and complain to her father like all Jewish women do. My grandfaher, I remember it so well, would not utter a word, he would only look at Yasar, caress him, would eat a sweet or borek(pastry) or a leftover from Friday night, and then leave without saying anything.
I do not know if my grandfather had any specific political views. He was not a member of any political organization or party, he wasn’t a member of a social or cultural club either.
When the nation of Israel was founded in 1948, he went there to be with his middle son Izak Rodrik and he died there.
My grandfather did his military service in Syria, I do not know during which years. My mother used to tell that when she was around 5, her father went to the military to fight in the war, there probably was a war then, he stayed in the military for 4-5 years. When he returned diskempt with long hair and beard, my mother started crying from fear, not knowing who this man was. This is your father they told her and my mother did not believe them, my father cannot look like this, she said. Later on, he took care of himself, cut his hair and shaved his beard, looked like himself again.
My maternal grandfather used to carry flour to the bakeries with a horse and carriage for as long as I remember. His financial situation was quite good. He even carried his merchandise himself, to earn more money.
My maternal grandfather had a fickle personality, at times he was very cranky, they even called him “Bohoraci el Kufur” [Ladino for the firstborn curser]. It means cranky as far as I can understand. At times he behaved in a very tolerant manner especially towards us. When my brother Yasar was born, they used to live in the neighborhood just north of us, we used to live somewhere called Kaleici, he would come to see my mother every Saturday morning after temple, at the time my father would also be home because the store would not be opened on Saturdays and my father never opened his store on a Saturday until the day he died, my mother would sit and complain to her father like all Jewish women do. My grandfaher, I remember it so well, would not utter a word, he would only look at Yasar, caress him, would eat a sweet or borek(pastry) or a leftover from Friday night, and then leave without saying anything.
I do not know if my grandfather had any specific political views. He was not a member of any political organization or party, he wasn’t a member of a social or cultural club either.
When the nation of Israel was founded in 1948, he went there to be with his middle son Izak Rodrik and he died there.
Location
/Edirne
Türkiye
Interview
Albert Ozlevi