Aron and gymnastics

Aron and gymnastics

The year is 2000. Working out in my home in the Polat apartment on Vali Konagi Caddesi. I was born on June 6th, 1916 on the Asian side of Istanbul, in the Yeldegirmeni neighborhood that was between Haydarpasha and Kadiköy, in the famous Valpreda apartment of the time, on the second or third floor. My father was late in obtaining my identification card, therefore on my ID card and consequently on official papers my birthday shows as August 1st. But the year is the same: 1916. I am the third child in a four sibling family and the only son. I was given the name Aron which is my paternal grandfather's name according to traditions and Henri was also added because of the effect of French culture. The family of my maternal grandmother gave me the nickname Nino because they are of Italian descent and called me like that. I started to use the name Aron only in 1934 after enrolling I had a very active education period. I started primary school in Ortaköy Jewish primary school. A year later I was enrolled in the elementary school of the Jewish highschool that was founded by Dr. David Marküs [1870-1944] who was the principal and who my mother knew well and I got my elementary school diploma in June of 1926. I continued my education in middle school for seven years again in the Jewish highschool. But the last year I also attended Galatasaray Lisesi(highschool) [founded by Sultan II.Bayezid in 1481 and still continues in the field of education successfully] and obtained my highschool diploma from the Jewish highschool and my baccalaureate from Galatasaray in 1932. I passed the entrance exam and enrolled in the Engineering Faculty and graduated in 1937. I obtained my diploma from "Universite de Paris, Facultés de Droit et des Lettres Institut d'Urbanisme" (University of Paris, Faculty of Rules and Regulations, the Urban Institute) on June 8th,1940 Saturday, and my diploma from "Ecole Spéciale d'Architecture de Paris" (The Special Architecture School of Paris) as saludatorian on June 10th, 1940 Monday. Within two days of each other. Working out in the morning, in summer or in winter, is a part of my life that I never overlook.
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