MOM and DAD
This is the story of an unusual couple. Of my mom and my dad. All my existence I owe to a cinema movie and a sunny day which made my mom and dad meet at the same cinema. Date 1970, place Beyoglu Istanbul.
A young Jewish man of an upper middle class family and a Muslim girl meet by accident and as later told it is love at the first sight. Many many days of secretly meeting lead to the point of wishing to marry but in date 1970 it is still not that usual and easy for a Jew and a Muslim to marry with each other.Tradditions! Both families were first against it, my grandfather Kamil bey a very conservative man did the most to prevent it, but the voice of the heart was stronger and my mama showed to be a courageous girl and married my dad in 1971. My daddies family accepted her, but my grandfather Kamil bey refused to see his daughter for full 4 years until my brother Cem was born. Gosh hard to imagine but Cem was good for something;) Only then he gave up his stubbornness and saw his daughter again for whom his heart had bled for so long. Yes he could never like my father all too much but what can I say: he was the cutest grandfather a child could imagine and he told my brother and me that in all the years he could not be angry towards my mom . Not even a bit, on contrary he says he was proud that his daughter was such a strong girl and that she defended her love...but he had to grieve ...that´s paternal tradition in Turkey:p...may he rest in peace

SALONICA
My paternal line came with those ships, fleeing Isabella and Ferdinand from Spain and their Inquisition. The haven which expected them and would take them for the next 421 years into it´s arms and shelter was called the land of Turks. In
1912 Ottoman Turks were forced out of Greece and Salonica fell under Greek control. After four centuries of peace old grudges and enemities of Greeks vs. Jews started again and the Jewish population of Salonica became subject to progroms and massacers. Those ontinued even in 1917, 25 years later the Nazis came and exterminated almost all Jews of Greece. Besides Nazis Greeks exposed
their anti Semtiism by using Jewish graveyards as building lands, forcing Jews to Sunday Sabbath-etc. From all synagogues in Salonica only one is left while all others were destroyed...From the massacers in 1919 only my great grandfather at a child age and some of his relatives survied by escaping to Turkey...his family, mother, father, brothers were lost...