My wife in Büyükada

This photograph was taken in 1955.  It was taken in Büyükada.  The one on the right is the daughter of my cousin, next to her is my wife.
What I remember about this day, my wife was very close with her.  Later on, as soon as she got married she left for Israel.  Afterwards she went to Africa.
She was a relative of my wife.  The daughter of my wife’s cousin.  This girl had two sons.
She was married at 15 years of age, after living here for a while, left for Israel.  Afterwards they went to Africa.  Later they returned to Israel again. Unfortunately she had two sons then, she gave birth to a girl.  Unfortunately the girl was very sweet, very good but she was obese and she lost her daughter.  Years passed, she lost her husband too.  Now she lives in Israel with her two sons.

My wife Ceni Rutli(Romi) was born in Istanbul in the 6th section. On August 15th, 1923.  She studied in junior high.  Her mother tongue is Judeo Espagnol, she also knows French. She worked for a very short while after school.  The Berber store of Soryano Hanalel.  They sold things like shirts and pijamas.  She did not work after getting married.  She had 2 siblings.  The older one Jak Romi, the younger one Albert Romi.  They both went to Israel.  Jak Romi opened a hardware store there.  He had one daughter and one son.  Mahir Romi and Estella Romi.  Albert Romi married a woman from Egypt there.  He did not have children.

This is how my wife and I met.  I had a friend, Izi Goldenberg who was the owner of Grundig radios and televisions.  He used to manufacture gloves before, gloves for men and women.  He was at Sultanhamam in the five fingers building.  We also founded Rutli-Goldenberg, an agency specializing in hardware but it did not work afterwards.  My current wife was working in a shirt store around there.  When Goldenberg was working on gloves, she came one day to buy a pair and we met there.  I helped her carry the package she bought, we took it to the store.  She was a beautiful woman, would you date me, I said.  Yes, I will date you, she said, but not alone.  I had friends, we went out together.  We went out one or two times.  Later we continued.  After a while she started asking about marriage.  I said, I cannot marry before my sister is married.  She told this to her mother.  Her mother said, ask if she has money.  She came to me and asked, does your sibling have money.  I told her that the older brothers that are in the United States and the ones here, they will all give.  She then told me I have a doctor.  If your sister gets engaged, I will enter your house too, I want to get engaged too.  I said, o.k.   We made a date at a bakery in Beyoglu, so they can meet.  My older sister came with my older brother, and I with Ceni, and doctor Sami Reytan came alone because he did not have a father or such.  He was a good man, later on he became an internist, they liked each other a lot.  They decided, came to our house, got engaged and later on married.  They got married and we got married.