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I had a lot of good friends in Ortakoy, who remained friends until they died. When we were little, we used to play with marbles or go out together. There was Atiyas, Avigdor, and Sages [these are all surnames]. Then there was Halit, my friend. He was my cousin Belkıs Aseo’s husband. Belkıs was the mukhtar’s daughter. She married Halit and settled in Ankara. Halit was Moslem. He was from Ortakoy and I knew him from an early age. He had a sister called Halide. Belkıs did not have any problems marrying a non-Jew because at the time both her parents had died. They were 3 sisters: Sara Aseo, Belkıs, who had been Beki and then became Belkıs [she changed her Jewish name, Beki to a Turkish one, Belkıs, after she married Halit, who was a Moslem], and Vera Ventura.
Moiz Atiyas, my best friend ever, was born in 1330 [hijri calendar], which means 1914. He was born in Istanbul. He used to live on the opposite corner from our house in Ortaköy. He went to the Italian school as a child. Then after he finished school, when he was 17-18, he started to work at a transportation firm in Sirkeci. He worked there all his life and retired from there.
We were always together from our childhood on. We used to play football together, then as young men we went out together. We did our military service at the same time, we even served in the 20 classes in the same place. We were even staying in the same tent.
We went on going out in the same group after we finished our military service. He married a friend of ours, Elvir Barzel in 1947. They never had any children. His wife worked at a pharmacy in Karakoy but she was not a pharmacist herself.
Our friendship continued until Moiz died. I don’t really remember what year he died in. His wife also died a few years ago.
All of my friends were from Ortakoy. We used to live very close to each other anyway. Most were Jewish and we only had Halit as a Moslem. We used to play football in the empty lot across our house.
Moiz Atiyas, my best friend ever, was born in 1330 [hijri calendar], which means 1914. He was born in Istanbul. He used to live on the opposite corner from our house in Ortaköy. He went to the Italian school as a child. Then after he finished school, when he was 17-18, he started to work at a transportation firm in Sirkeci. He worked there all his life and retired from there.
We were always together from our childhood on. We used to play football together, then as young men we went out together. We did our military service at the same time, we even served in the 20 classes in the same place. We were even staying in the same tent.
We went on going out in the same group after we finished our military service. He married a friend of ours, Elvir Barzel in 1947. They never had any children. His wife worked at a pharmacy in Karakoy but she was not a pharmacist herself.
Our friendship continued until Moiz died. I don’t really remember what year he died in. His wife also died a few years ago.
All of my friends were from Ortakoy. We used to live very close to each other anyway. Most were Jewish and we only had Halit as a Moslem. We used to play football in the empty lot across our house.
Location
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Türkiye
Interview
Izak Sarhon