Güler Orgun with her schoolmates from Aydin Okul elementary school

This is a picture of the 5th grade at the Aydin Okul elementary school. I am in the back row, the second from the right. The photo was taken in Istanbul in 1948. I was born in Istanbul on 23rd February 1937. I am an only child. My mother was 37 years old when she gave birth to me. When I was five months old, we moved to the Tas apt. at No. 33/1 in Taksim, Talimhane, Sehit Muhtar caddesi. I remember this well because we lived there till I was 23. When World War II started, I was barely three. What impressed me most then and has stuck in my memory, were the dark blue spring-roller blinds - we called them 'stors' - on the windows, which we had to pull down in the evenings in order to block out the lights. This was part of everyone's routine called 'black-out.' I still have those 'stors' which I keep in case they come in useful some day, because they were made of a very strong tarpaulin-like material. Of course, basic foods like bread and sugar were rationed, but - thanks to my parents' care - I was not affected by that. I never attended kindergarten, which made me feel deprived and was a source of frustration, because all my friends did. In 1944, I attended the Taksim Aydin Okulu elementary school. My father was an authoritarian person but always indulgent with me. He was very fond of me; he talked with me and was concerned about me. I trusted him implicitly. Once, while in elementary school, I was having difficulties with my 'Yurttaslik Bilgisi' [Citizenship course] homework. I asked for his help. He sat with me for a couple of hours and explained it to me. He did it so well that I always got 'Pek Iyi' [a 'Very Good' mark] on that subject after that day.