Link to Family Tree to understand family relationships.
Today we see the continuation of the letter we saw yesterday, this part written by Eva 5 days later, after she and Harry have been in Istanbul for a few days. Apparently they have received letters from their parents in Vienna.
Istanbul, 2 May 1939
We are very happy that everything is going so well in Vienna and that your cause is going well. It will be easy to come to Uncle Isak and speak to him. However Uncle Isak is not a normal mortal. You have to report your visit in advance. But not all relatives are accepted for a visit. Only the Sevilya family (2+ times a year) and our much-honored family. Then you have the finest courtly manners with a kiss of the hand and a bow.
Isak loves to see when the children of less wealthy people are raised like millionaires and so he is sympathetic to us. If you want something from him, he won’t do it. It is only of value if he does it without having been asked.
His wife is overly nice and that is really only because she doesn’t come from such good circumstances. In our very large family, there are only two halfway beautiful beings. One is the daughter of Estrea and the other one is Yomtov’s wife. She’s really beautiful and very nice and she speaks German very well. Salomon, Isak’s brother, also has a very large family. His son in law is a relative of the Kantor Assoc. They have invited us to Prinkipo. Rachel’s daughter lives with her and has a son who looks like a little monkey. Bondie’s wife Susanne is fatter than she appears on the picture. I don’t want to reveal anything more. She told me her whole life story in gestures.
And Bondie is angry that we speak neither Spanish nor French… Fortune told me that (of course!!!!) it was a money match, but not in Italy, but rather here!
A cousin by the name of Sarah Romano is the only relative outside of Isak’s family who has a nice apartment. Saturday was a big family reception. They even have a radio which is apparently really quite something here. She has a son who is an absolute beauty. He has bright red hair and an absolutely beautiful nose.
Everyday, different people come who increase the number of relatives we have. They all are very interested in knowing what you are up to and they invite us over. I’ve only told you about the most important of the family members. If I wanted to write about all of them, I wouldn’t even be finished by tomorrow. These people speak all sorts of different languages but they are just starting to learn Turkish.
Right after the phone call, Yomtov told us that we must stay for a long time. Nobody here understands what a quota is and why we are not considered to be Turks. Yomtov is going to the consulate today to see what he can do from here. Fortune does not want you to leave again when you’re here. She says Uncle should get a job for Papa so he can stay. I should work here as a German correspondent.
You should have a picture of what it looks like here. Our furnishings in Harry’s room were more beautiful and bigger than what you have in the whole house. Everybody raves about Isak’s and Yomtov’s apartment. For me it seems like middle class Vienna accommodations. With our furniture, we would be considered millionaires.
For today just lots of greetings and kisses
EVA
P.S. We have been running around for three days trying to find culture but we haven’t found it. What we found today was bad culture. The washer lady was working with a cigarette in her mouth.
Many greetings to Jo.
My mother had definite opinions about how things should be and how people should act — and clearly she was already that way at the age of 18!