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My mother’s side of the family lived again in a 3-room house on a side street about 150 south of them. It was a one-story house on a big empty lot with a barn. At the time, the houses in Edirne were one-story and had bay windows. The furniture was better on my mother’s side of the family. Their life style was also better. They had electricity in the house. I don’t remember if they had running water. What I remember is that there was a well in the garden of the house. They would pull water out of the well especially on Fridays. They had something called reso to warm their house. It was a metal stove with 4 openings. It was European, all stoves were European anyways. There were no nannies or female helpers on my mother’s side of the family also.
My mother’s side of the family observed religion more. They observed kashrut, the Sabbath. On Saturdays the lights would not be turned on, candles were not lit. When they had to warm food, there was a woman called “deli [crazy] Ayse” in the neighborhood, she would walk the Jewish neighborhoods from one end to the other and light everyone’s stoves. And they paid her something. When deli Ayse came, she would light the stove, the food would be placed on top, warmed up, and to turn it off, again Ayse would come. My grandfather would even be angy at my grandmother when the food was warmed and she took them down. My mother’s side of the family would go to the synagogue every Sabbath and the holidays. My maternal grandfather was an usher in the synagogue. He was an usher in a synagogue in Tahtakale, I can’t remember the name. There even was a kosher butcher there, I remember, they called him “Davit el shochet”. When they had to cut chickens, it was done in that synagogue.
The Jewish holidays were always celebrated at home.
All their neighbors were Jewish. As a matter of fact it was a Jewish neighborhood there, I don’t remember the name. It was a Jewish neighborhood from one end to the other. It was adjacent to a highschool’s lot. It was a long neighborhood from one end to the other. Their relationship with their neighbors was at a very good level.
My mother’s side of the family observed religion more. They observed kashrut, the Sabbath. On Saturdays the lights would not be turned on, candles were not lit. When they had to warm food, there was a woman called “deli [crazy] Ayse” in the neighborhood, she would walk the Jewish neighborhoods from one end to the other and light everyone’s stoves. And they paid her something. When deli Ayse came, she would light the stove, the food would be placed on top, warmed up, and to turn it off, again Ayse would come. My grandfather would even be angy at my grandmother when the food was warmed and she took them down. My mother’s side of the family would go to the synagogue every Sabbath and the holidays. My maternal grandfather was an usher in the synagogue. He was an usher in a synagogue in Tahtakale, I can’t remember the name. There even was a kosher butcher there, I remember, they called him “Davit el shochet”. When they had to cut chickens, it was done in that synagogue.
The Jewish holidays were always celebrated at home.
All their neighbors were Jewish. As a matter of fact it was a Jewish neighborhood there, I don’t remember the name. It was a Jewish neighborhood from one end to the other. It was adjacent to a highschool’s lot. It was a long neighborhood from one end to the other. Their relationship with their neighbors was at a very good level.
Location
/Edirne
Türkiye
Interview
Albert Ozlevi
Tag(s)