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My husband, Izak Sarhon, was born in Ortakoy, in 1914. His mother tongue is Ladino and he speaks French, too. My in-laws were very nice people. I met my husband through an acquaintance. That person told us there was somebody (my husband) so and so and when we said “OK”, we met at the Hay-Layf café in Pangalti. My uncle and my brother Vitali came, too. We saw each other for the first time there. We chatted a little, then we ate something and then he left. Then, the person who introduced us went to talk to his father and they said “OK”. Then his father called my uncle and they talked about what was necessary to talk about [probably about the dowry], and then they said “OK”. Then Izak came to visit us one evening and then we got engaged in 1948. We got engaged in my home. My uncles, my in-laws, and my sister-in-law all came to my home and we had a family dinner. There were a lot of flowers. My in-laws brought me a ring. And my family gave my fiancée a gold watch as a present. Of course, the fact that my fiancée was Jewish was an important factor in our decision for marriage.
In 1949, one week before the wedding, we had our civil marriage ceremony in Tunel . The civil marriage was at the registrar’s hall and it was quite crowded. I wore a tailor-made suit and my husband wore a dark suit. My witness was my uncle Daniel and my husband’s witness was a cousin of his mother’s, the lawyer Selim Danon. After the ceremony we went to my father-in-law’s house and there was a kind of cocktail. There were about 30-40 people present. We talked and listened to music on the radio, there was nothing else in those days.
One week later, on a Sunday, on 10th July, I got married at the Zulfaris Synagogue [16] in Karakoy at 6:00 p.m. I don’t know why we got married so late in the day, probably because there was no other free hour. I bought my wedding dress from a shop, I did not have it made especially for me. On that Sunday morning, we got up early. My uncle and his wife, my friends, all came to my house. The hairdresser also came and did everybody’s hair. Then we got dressed. At 10 minutes to 6 we went to the synagogue all together. My cousin Sami Schilton gave me away and he and my mother got on the “teva” with me. I also had a little bridesmaid and an older one who accompanied Sami Schilton later on. After the wedding ceremony, we went to my husband’s parents’ house. We changed there and then went to the Belvu Hotel [the turkish version of the french expression “Belle Vue”]. We did not have a party that night. We stayed at that hotel for 4 days. It was raining hard all the time so we spent the whole of the 4 days inside the hotel. We did not go out. Then we went to Caddebostan [this district on the Asian coast of Istanbul used to be a summer resort. It is now a residential area.]. We rented a house for the summer. Our friends also rented a house and we spent the whole summer together having fun.
In 1949, one week before the wedding, we had our civil marriage ceremony in Tunel . The civil marriage was at the registrar’s hall and it was quite crowded. I wore a tailor-made suit and my husband wore a dark suit. My witness was my uncle Daniel and my husband’s witness was a cousin of his mother’s, the lawyer Selim Danon. After the ceremony we went to my father-in-law’s house and there was a kind of cocktail. There were about 30-40 people present. We talked and listened to music on the radio, there was nothing else in those days.
One week later, on a Sunday, on 10th July, I got married at the Zulfaris Synagogue [16] in Karakoy at 6:00 p.m. I don’t know why we got married so late in the day, probably because there was no other free hour. I bought my wedding dress from a shop, I did not have it made especially for me. On that Sunday morning, we got up early. My uncle and his wife, my friends, all came to my house. The hairdresser also came and did everybody’s hair. Then we got dressed. At 10 minutes to 6 we went to the synagogue all together. My cousin Sami Schilton gave me away and he and my mother got on the “teva” with me. I also had a little bridesmaid and an older one who accompanied Sami Schilton later on. After the wedding ceremony, we went to my husband’s parents’ house. We changed there and then went to the Belvu Hotel [the turkish version of the french expression “Belle Vue”]. We did not have a party that night. We stayed at that hotel for 4 days. It was raining hard all the time so we spent the whole of the 4 days inside the hotel. We did not go out. Then we went to Caddebostan [this district on the Asian coast of Istanbul used to be a summer resort. It is now a residential area.]. We rented a house for the summer. Our friends also rented a house and we spent the whole summer together having fun.
Period
Year
1949
Location
Beyoğlu/İstanbul
Türkiye
Interview
Suzi Sarhon