Once Upon A Time...

Once upon a time, there were people who sold vegetables on the streets of Istanbul; greeneries, lemons, artichokes, they all came to your street. Madame Graziella used to shout "Mehmet Efendi, three kg's of tomato, 2 kg's of potato!". There were French bookstores everywhere. In those times, people in Istanbul spoke many languages. You could hear dozens of other languages when you walked down the street at Pera. Armenians didn't only speak Armenian, Jews didn't only speak Ladino(Old Spanish). They spoke French too. Man used to wear suits and stetson hats(chapeau de feutre)when they left home. Asphalted streets didn't uglify Istanbul cause cobblestones covered everywhere. Istanbul was the city of art. There were people who chose art instead of money. You could have a great night in one of the Greek taverns. I mean the real ones, with Greek owners. You had neighbors from all of the three religions. Madame Sitiripou was living next door, Senior Avraam was living on the ground floor. Ayse Hanim brought helva on Kandil's, Madame Elmon brought easter egg's for your children on Easter. When the Independence Day was celebrated, it was literally celebrated. Everybody shared the same joy, Turkish flags covered all over the windows. People were proud of their country, no matter the origin they had. When you left your home, you could leave your door keys to your neighbor. When your friends daughter was marrying, you went to the church. When you friend Esther's son was born, you went to the synagogue with her. When summer came, very few left for Europe. Others just locked their houses in the European side of Istanbul and left for the Islands or Suadiye, to their summer houses. Your children grew up with Mordo, Ahmet and Niko. You left your baby with your neighbor's mother, Madame Emil. She was a presyado, she was a boncuk gozlu, she was a politimos. You could take the trolley in Taksim. It was not called 'The Nostalgic Trolley' in those times. People had respect to each other. People said sorry a million times when they bumped into you. You could go out at night, without fearing any kind of harassment. You could swim in the Bosphorus, there were beaches in Istanbul in those times. Not every house had a radiator. So, you knew what a heating stove looked like pretty well. People didn't fear of a bomb when they went to crowded places. People went to the army proud, hoping to die for this country while defending it from other nations. People never actually thought that they would have to defend the country from its very own people. The only way to cross the Bosphorus was boats and ferries. There were no bridges in those times. This is the Istanbul where my grandma grew up. This is the Istanbul where the rest of my grandparents witnessed when they arrived at the Sirkeci Train Station, their last stop after their hard lives in the heart of Europe. This is the Istanbul that they talk about with a smile in their eyes. What will happen to the city we are living in right now? What are we going to witness after 50 years? What will change in this city? You, the ones who are not from Istanbul. Do you remember the city your grandparents told you about. What will happen to it in the future? What can possibly change more than the change that is witnessed by your grandparents? Only the God knows. You can't stop the change. Change is what we need. You can only try to make this change a good one. One that is going to prosperity, not the one going to catastrophe and destruction.

Efendi: A Turkish word, meaning respectful man.
Pera: The old name for Beyoglu. A historic district of Istanbul. Known for its cultural diversity.
Helva: A Turkish desert.
Kandil: A holy day in Islam.
Suadiye: A district near the Marmara Sea in Istanbul.
Presyado: Ladino word for precious.
Boncuk Gozlu: A Turkish phrase, meaning bead eyed.
Politimos: Greek word for precious.

Photography: Ara Guler (Istanbul in 1950's)