Tag #125724 - Interview #97938 (Moiz Isman)

Generally, Tuesdays and Fridays were our bathing days.  If there was a necessity, of course we would take baths on other days. We would place a big washtub in the room with the stove. And we would mix cold water, with the water heated in a large pan, called “gugum”, and take our baths. The floors were wooden. We would remove the rug, and dry the floor after the bathing was completed, then we would put the rug back. Though we were taking baths at home, I would go to the Hamam [Turkish bath] called Abbas Efendi, across my working place in Karakoy, every 10 or 15 days. The women of the families would also go to the hamam, before festivals. On the other hand, my father didn’t go to a hamam much.

Our first means of lighting at homes, was karosene lamps. I studied in candle light, when I came home from school. The electricity at our home was connected either in 1922 or1923.  Our financial situation was just enough to support us, and thus my mother was responsible for all the housework. We never had any maids.

We had a completely white cat, called Pamuk [cotton], like the Ankara Cat [Ankara or Angora Cat, is a breed, known for its long hair, it is often all white, with one eye green, the other eye blue]. I liked Pamuk a lot, but the real responsibility was on my mother. She took care of him.  When he aged and died, both my mother and I cried very much.