Harun Bozo with friends at a picnic at the Rumeli Hisari fortress

Here you can see me (first from right) with friends at a picnic at the Rumeli Hisari fortress. The other persons in the photo are my friends Rozi Toledo, Misel Boritzer, Jojo Bati. The photo was taken in Istanbul between 1945 and 1947. I came to Istanbul in 1943 because I wanted to study at Robert College, but I was too late for the exams. Others who had come from Urfa had gone to study at this school. My brother enrolled me in the St. Benoit Lycee. Then I started living with my brother. I graduated in 1948-49. My family was in Urfa. I used to go there and visit until 1945-46. However, after the Urfa Events, I didn't go there again. As I was the youngest, my mother was very attached to me and she would worry herself sick every time I came to Urfa. She didn't want me to go, so after 1946 I never went to Urfa again. After I finished the St. Benoit Lycee, I went to do my military service. My preparation regiment was in Bolayir, Gelibolu. We had a 60-day period of preparation. We used to go out on market leave on Saturdays and Sundays. At that time there was a Jewish community in Gelibolu and they had provided me with a 'home' paper, with which I was able to prove that I had a home to go to when on leave. My older brother had a partner called Eskenazi. They had a client in Gelibolu called Kandiyoti. I got my 'home' paper from them. So, on weekends, when I went out on leave I stayed either at a hotel or with the Kandiyotis. On Saturdays I went to the synagogue at Gelibolu.

Photos from this interviewee