Victoria Almalekh (nee Levi) and her godmother Dr. Vaseva

In this picture you can see me (Viktoria Almalekh) and my godmother Dr. Vaseva, which means that she was a witness of my marriage, of my engagement in Sofia on 10th March 1955. Most likely the picture was taken in a photo studio in Sofia but there is no stamp or any other inscription.

Albert Koen’s family were friends with my husband’s aunt. They liked me for their nephew Yosif Samuil Almalekh and decided I was a good match for him. Yosif Samuil Almalekh was an officer in the Navy in Varna. They arranged me a date with him in the house where my sister lived.

We met on 10th March – my birthday in 1955. On 29th April we got engaged in Sofia in the presence of relatives of his and mine. Our wedding was in Varna – my husband’s home town. We were married only before the registrar with no ketubbah, no Ashugar and no Ravni. In those days my parents used to live in Vidin. They came a day before and spent the night at their in-law’s apartment. My husband, my son and I lived together with my parents-in-law. It ended when my husband and I could afford a house of our own and started living separately due to my firm insistence.