Ezra Bozo as a witness at a civil marriage ceremony

This is a picture of my father, Ezra Bozo, as a witness during a civil marriage ceremony. The photo was taken in Istanbul in 1955 or 1956. My father wasn't a very talkative person. He was a serious man. He was also very intelligent. He didn't chatter with people and he didn't interfere in others' businesses. He led a calm and comfortable life. He wasn't too humorous. I've never heard a bad word spoken about him. He led a very simple life. You know, the first prayers in the morning are quite early. He would get up much earlier and go to the synagogue at 4:30 in the morning. They would have sessions on religion before the prayers. They would read religious texts and discuss them. My father always joined these sessions. After the sessions, there would be the morning prayers. From there he would come home, have his breakfast and go to work. There were no schools in Urfa during my father's childhood. My father went to the Talmud Tora. He learned Hebrew there. He could read the Tora very well. He also knew old Turkish and would write all his letters in this old script. He studied at the Talmud Tora, which meant he always read religious books. He had lots of books in Hebrew. We brought some of them when we moved to Istanbul. His friends and relatives knew his special interest in religious books and would send or bring him books from Israel [then Palestine] or from other countries. When he died, we gave all of them to the Sisli [Beth-Israel] Synagogue.

Photos from this interviewee