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When the Turks were leaving Sofia and set fire to the town, my paternal great-grandfather’s brother, Gavriel Seliktar, gathered a group of Jewish young men and tried to put out the fire [see Liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman rule] [4]. That is included in the research of the famous historian Prof. [Ivan] Undjiev [5]. My more remote ancestors spoke the ancient Spanish language: Ladino [6]. They also spoke Turkish. Some of them also knew western languages. In more recent times, both my parents, for example, knew French very well. They even spoke French at home so that we, the children, wouldn’t be able to understand them. But they stopped when we started studying French too.
I remember my grandparents very well. My paternal grandfather was Avram Seliktar. My maternal grandfather was Leon [Sarfati]. I was named after him. My grandfathers were strict and serious, but they loved us very much. Yet, they didn’t show it all the time. They dressed in secular [modern] clothes. My maternal grandmother Linda [Sarfati, nee Beni] was very wise and the whole neighborhood went to her for advice, especially if there was a quarrel in some family. She was also a healer. I remember very well that she could treat dislocated joints or broken bones. At first, all my grandparents lived near the present-day Sheraton Hotel in Sofia [in the very center of the city]. But when the authorities started to design the central part in Sofia, they moved down to the beginning of the Jewish housing estate Iuchbunar [7]. They all lived there, but in different houses.
I remember my grandparents very well. My paternal grandfather was Avram Seliktar. My maternal grandfather was Leon [Sarfati]. I was named after him. My grandfathers were strict and serious, but they loved us very much. Yet, they didn’t show it all the time. They dressed in secular [modern] clothes. My maternal grandmother Linda [Sarfati, nee Beni] was very wise and the whole neighborhood went to her for advice, especially if there was a quarrel in some family. She was also a healer. I remember very well that she could treat dislocated joints or broken bones. At first, all my grandparents lived near the present-day Sheraton Hotel in Sofia [in the very center of the city]. But when the authorities started to design the central part in Sofia, they moved down to the beginning of the Jewish housing estate Iuchbunar [7]. They all lived there, but in different houses.
Location
Bulgaria
Interview
Leon Seliktar