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We lived in a house in Kuledibi, till I was 5-6 years old. [popular neighborhood amongst the Jews, located on the European side] Later on, we moved to Azapkapi. [the lower part of Kuledibi] It was my grandfather’s house, we inherited it from him. We stayed at that house, till I was 15 years old. I remember this house of ours very well.
It had a living room which we called the salon, two bedrooms, and also a very small third room. [like today’s larder]. We used to put this and that in that room, and whenever it was needed, I would sleep there. The floor was wooden. We had long mattresses, table and chairs, and a “Boron” in our living room. [“Boron”, a sephardic term, was a closet with a mirror, which had 4 to 5 drawers. We would keep the sheets and the towels in it]. My father had brought a phonograph home from his shop. Listening to records on the phonograph was very nice. We had a closet with a mirror in our bedroom. If I had been able to save it till today, it would probably be a very valuable antique piece.
There wasn’t a bathroom in the houses of that time. We had a traditional “alaturka” toilet, in a separate part of the house. [Old fashioned toilet, before modern water closet got widespread.] My mother washed the laundry by hand, because we didn’t have a washing machine. Of course, we also had a small kitchen. We had a wired cupboard, kept outside a window that did not get any sunlight, instead of a refrigerator. Our food was kept there. We had a backyard and a well, too. Besides the fruits we dangled in the well, we also kept my father’s Uziko [raki] there, in order to keep it cold. My father also wore Kurdi [a thin coat, with fur lining], like my grandfather.
We first used a big brazier for heating, and of course burned coal. Later on we started coughing continuously. When we investigated why, we found out that we were slowly being poisoned by the fumes that the coal produced while burning. Upon this, my father brought a very nice porcelain stove. We used to cook coffee, quince, and chestnuts on that stove. We were burning wood then. 250 kilos of firewood would cost 125 kurus. It was very easy to light that stove, my mother used to do it. Only the living room was heated with this stove. Of course it was not sufficient enough to heat our house, which was made up of three rooms and a kitchen.
We had running water, when we started living in that house, but of course there were some houses which had no running water. These households had to carry their water from the fountain in the neighborhood, in barrels. That was very hard.
It had a living room which we called the salon, two bedrooms, and also a very small third room. [like today’s larder]. We used to put this and that in that room, and whenever it was needed, I would sleep there. The floor was wooden. We had long mattresses, table and chairs, and a “Boron” in our living room. [“Boron”, a sephardic term, was a closet with a mirror, which had 4 to 5 drawers. We would keep the sheets and the towels in it]. My father had brought a phonograph home from his shop. Listening to records on the phonograph was very nice. We had a closet with a mirror in our bedroom. If I had been able to save it till today, it would probably be a very valuable antique piece.
There wasn’t a bathroom in the houses of that time. We had a traditional “alaturka” toilet, in a separate part of the house. [Old fashioned toilet, before modern water closet got widespread.] My mother washed the laundry by hand, because we didn’t have a washing machine. Of course, we also had a small kitchen. We had a wired cupboard, kept outside a window that did not get any sunlight, instead of a refrigerator. Our food was kept there. We had a backyard and a well, too. Besides the fruits we dangled in the well, we also kept my father’s Uziko [raki] there, in order to keep it cold. My father also wore Kurdi [a thin coat, with fur lining], like my grandfather.
We first used a big brazier for heating, and of course burned coal. Later on we started coughing continuously. When we investigated why, we found out that we were slowly being poisoned by the fumes that the coal produced while burning. Upon this, my father brought a very nice porcelain stove. We used to cook coffee, quince, and chestnuts on that stove. We were burning wood then. 250 kilos of firewood would cost 125 kurus. It was very easy to light that stove, my mother used to do it. Only the living room was heated with this stove. Of course it was not sufficient enough to heat our house, which was made up of three rooms and a kitchen.
We had running water, when we started living in that house, but of course there were some houses which had no running water. These households had to carry their water from the fountain in the neighborhood, in barrels. That was very hard.
Location
Beyoğlu/İstanbul
Türkiye
Interview
Moiz Isman