Aron Anjel

My father Albert Avram Anjel was born in 1881 in Salonica. He came to Istanbul with his family in 1889 and settled in Haydarpa. He started his education in the Galata Jewish primary school and continued in Galatasaray Lisesi(highschool) We had, in one word, a respect and esteem-based "father-son" relationship. During his entire life he never said a negative word to me. We were a perfect father-son symbol. He was always involved in my life. When I was going to France in 1937, my mother had died in 1932, he personally took care of everything concerning me. My father who was slightly tall had a moustache smaller than medium. When he died at the age of 77, his moustache was still black as ever. The middle part of his hair had thinned out a bit, the sides were curly. My father fell and hit his head in Büyük Hendek Caddesi(street) where Keneset Israel synagogue was on October 14th, 1958 and passed on at the age of 77 at the Primary Care Hospital where he was taken. He was still teaching at the time. He is buried in Ulus (Arnavutköy) cemetery. This photograph is taken in 1958, after my father’s death. As you can see, my bowtie is in the color black and my face has a very sad demeanor. When I was a senior in Paris, I had started growing a “necklace beard”.