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I think I was around 5 or 6 when we lived together with Madam Luna Bakis. When I was around 9-10, we moved to Kaleici. It was a 2-story, beautiful house. It had a yard next to it with big walls. There were 3 rooms, if I remember correctly, there was a kitchen, bathroom, there was something called pastera [Ladino for large basin] to bathe in, we took baths in it, there was no bathtub. I slept in the same bedroom as my older brother.
There was either 1 m. or 45 cm. height between the ground and the window in our room on the ground floor. There was a cushion in that room. One would sit on the cushion and watch the people coming and going. If you wanted to look at someone, you could lean down and look from the back.
We had running water from the taps, and we had a well. At first, we did not have a servant or a maid. After a few years, a woman started to come, a gypsy woman. She came every day, did not stay the night. The gypsy who came to our house was either 35 or 45 years old, she had no teeth in her mouth. Our parents and their friends, 3-5 people, would arrange for card game nights, “there will be guests at night, Atiye, stay here” they would say. She would reply: “Noo, Sultana, I cannot stay, when it is nighttime I have to be in my husband’s arms”. She would never stay. When it was late we would take her to her home in the gypsy neighborhood in a horse-carriage.
We had books about religion at home, the novels that my mother read, and also comics like Tommix and Texas. We didn’t really follow the newspapers. There was no habit like going to the library. My parents were fairly religious. That is to say they were not overly religious. They observed the Sabbath and kashrut.
In my family it was my father who went to the bazaar. Because my mother had cardiac problems she did not go out much. They did not hace specific merchants or sellers that they bought from.
Among the Jewish traditions, they observed the holidays, they observed kashrut a long time ago, I don’t know why we neglected it with time. They would go to the synagogue every Sabbath and every holiday.
There would be holiday celebrations at home. My mother tried to gather all the relatives especially during Passover. My aunt also would want to have all her family. There was a matriarchy in our house. They had the same matriarchy in my uncle’s home. My uncle was also a very good person, a quiet person, they had wonderful personalities. They probably did not want to quarrel with women so they were matriarchal too. My aunt would say I want my family. On the one hand, the family is very large, it will be too many people. As a result we did not celebrate with the family of my uncle , we celebrated with my grandfather’s family. At first we would go to my grandfather’s to celebrate the holidays. After they emigrated to Israel in1948 my mother started gathering all the relatives.
Their friends, their neighbors were all Jewish. Anyways they were all from the same neighborhood, from Kaleici. For example, Luna Bakis was my parents’ friend for as long as I remember, and they stayed friends till their demise. There was Pepo Sarfati, the grocer Pepo Sarfati; we had a friend named Deyzi, her mother and father. There was a person they called “Pepo el Sobaci” [Ladino for Pepo the stoveman]. They were friends with 5-6 people like this. My parents did not go on vacations, there was no such thing as going on vacation then anyways.
Again during those times they did not know what a restaurant was. When I say they did not know I mean they didn’t go. Or maybe they did not want to go, I cannot know, after I turned 18, our family’s financial situation improved slowly slowly until it got to be quite well. I say our family because each one of us worked for the whole and the whole for each one of us. My older brother and i worked, my siblings were studying. When the one younger than me was in highschool, the second youngest was in elementary school. Even though there is 5 years difference between me and my younger lawyer brother, he has not suffered any of the pain I suffered.
My parents did not have active duties in the community. They did not participate in any political, social or cultural organization.
My mother’s funeral took place in Edirne in 1969, she had a heart attack. There were barely 10 people at her funeral. There were very few Jews left then. My father’s happened in Istanbul. He was buried here in Ulus cemetery. They were both buried with a religious ceremony in the presence of a rabbi. Of course I said kaddish for them. We bought 2 plots then. Following the burial of my father, a few years later, we buried my mother also in Istanbul Ulus cemetery. One day we also had our undershirt cut for krya, according to the religion. We observe their meldados [Ladino for yahrtzheits] every year on the anniversary of their death.
There was either 1 m. or 45 cm. height between the ground and the window in our room on the ground floor. There was a cushion in that room. One would sit on the cushion and watch the people coming and going. If you wanted to look at someone, you could lean down and look from the back.
We had running water from the taps, and we had a well. At first, we did not have a servant or a maid. After a few years, a woman started to come, a gypsy woman. She came every day, did not stay the night. The gypsy who came to our house was either 35 or 45 years old, she had no teeth in her mouth. Our parents and their friends, 3-5 people, would arrange for card game nights, “there will be guests at night, Atiye, stay here” they would say. She would reply: “Noo, Sultana, I cannot stay, when it is nighttime I have to be in my husband’s arms”. She would never stay. When it was late we would take her to her home in the gypsy neighborhood in a horse-carriage.
We had books about religion at home, the novels that my mother read, and also comics like Tommix and Texas. We didn’t really follow the newspapers. There was no habit like going to the library. My parents were fairly religious. That is to say they were not overly religious. They observed the Sabbath and kashrut.
In my family it was my father who went to the bazaar. Because my mother had cardiac problems she did not go out much. They did not hace specific merchants or sellers that they bought from.
Among the Jewish traditions, they observed the holidays, they observed kashrut a long time ago, I don’t know why we neglected it with time. They would go to the synagogue every Sabbath and every holiday.
There would be holiday celebrations at home. My mother tried to gather all the relatives especially during Passover. My aunt also would want to have all her family. There was a matriarchy in our house. They had the same matriarchy in my uncle’s home. My uncle was also a very good person, a quiet person, they had wonderful personalities. They probably did not want to quarrel with women so they were matriarchal too. My aunt would say I want my family. On the one hand, the family is very large, it will be too many people. As a result we did not celebrate with the family of my uncle , we celebrated with my grandfather’s family. At first we would go to my grandfather’s to celebrate the holidays. After they emigrated to Israel in1948 my mother started gathering all the relatives.
Their friends, their neighbors were all Jewish. Anyways they were all from the same neighborhood, from Kaleici. For example, Luna Bakis was my parents’ friend for as long as I remember, and they stayed friends till their demise. There was Pepo Sarfati, the grocer Pepo Sarfati; we had a friend named Deyzi, her mother and father. There was a person they called “Pepo el Sobaci” [Ladino for Pepo the stoveman]. They were friends with 5-6 people like this. My parents did not go on vacations, there was no such thing as going on vacation then anyways.
Again during those times they did not know what a restaurant was. When I say they did not know I mean they didn’t go. Or maybe they did not want to go, I cannot know, after I turned 18, our family’s financial situation improved slowly slowly until it got to be quite well. I say our family because each one of us worked for the whole and the whole for each one of us. My older brother and i worked, my siblings were studying. When the one younger than me was in highschool, the second youngest was in elementary school. Even though there is 5 years difference between me and my younger lawyer brother, he has not suffered any of the pain I suffered.
My parents did not have active duties in the community. They did not participate in any political, social or cultural organization.
My mother’s funeral took place in Edirne in 1969, she had a heart attack. There were barely 10 people at her funeral. There were very few Jews left then. My father’s happened in Istanbul. He was buried here in Ulus cemetery. They were both buried with a religious ceremony in the presence of a rabbi. Of course I said kaddish for them. We bought 2 plots then. Following the burial of my father, a few years later, we buried my mother also in Istanbul Ulus cemetery. One day we also had our undershirt cut for krya, according to the religion. We observe their meldados [Ladino for yahrtzheits] every year on the anniversary of their death.
Location
Kaleici/Antalya
Türkiye
Interview
Albert Ozlevi
Tag(s)