Search

The Göztepe Kültür Derneği (Göztepe Culture Club), also called the Göztepe Youth Club and the Jewish Community Center, located in the Kadiköy district on the Anatolian side of Istanbul, was established in 1975 by a benevolent group led by Sami Day, the head of the Kadiköy Hemdat Israel Synagogue. Their purpose was to promote social interactions among Jews residing in the Anatolian part of Istanbul. In furtherance of this goal, Göztepe Kültür Derneği has a busy program of athletic, cultural, and artistic activities and about 250 volu…

Eli Acıman was born in 1919 in Istanbul. He studied journalism in Paris and upon his return to Istanbul began his career in advertising. In 1944, he founded Faal Reklam Acentası (Faal Advertising Agency) together with the entrepreneurs Vitali Hakko and Mario Beghian, but the latter two withdrew from the firm soon afterward. In 1946, Acıman obtained the agency’s first major client, the Turkish industrial giant, Koç Enterprises. By 1957, the agency had grown considerably, and together with Afif Erdemir and Nesim Matan he incorporated it under the name Faal Ajans. Soon after…

Beki Bardavid, born in Istanbul in 1936,  is a Turkish language instructor, writer, and translator. She graduated from Lycée Notre Dame de Sion in Istanbul, and subsequently obtained her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in French Language and Literature from Istanbul University Faculty of Literature in 1980. After teaching French at Lycée Saint-Michel in Istanbul for some time, Bardavid got her second Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Spanish Language and Literature from Istanbul University Faculty of Literature in 1998.In addition to her books, Bardavid has written arti…

Vitali Hakko was born in Istanbul in 1913. He attended the school of the French (Jesuit) Frères until the age of ten, but in 1923, following the proclamation of the Turkish Republic, had to drop out because of his family’s financial troubles. At the age of thirteen, he began working in Mahmutpaşa, one of the busiest bazaars of the time, to contribute to his family’s income.In 1934, Hakko founded a modest hat store called Şen Şapka (Merry Hat) and officially entered the fashion industry. In 1938, he expanded his business and began selling scarves. That same ye…

Yusuf Tuvi, a renowned Turkish photographer, was born in Izmir in 1938 and received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Istanbul Technical University in 1960. His passion for art led him to photography, which he began practicing in 1974.Tuvi’s work is mainly focused on diapositives and slide presentations, which he puts together from photographs taken in Turkey and abroad. Our Land Our People, his slide show on Turkey’s cultural richness, is widely used by foreign travel agencies such as Grand Circle in the United States. His work is also u…

İzzet Bana was born in 1950 in Istanbul. He attended II. Karma Elementary School, where he later organized and directed numerous plays. He continued his education at Liceo Scientifico Italiano I.M.I, a missionary school in Istanbul.  Bana has been an important contributor to the betterment and cultural development of Turkey’s Jewish youth clubs, such as the Dostluk Yurdu Derneği (Dostluk Youth Club), Göztepe Kültür Derneği (Göztepe Youth Club & Jewish Community Center), Yıldırımspor Kültür Derneği (Yıldırım Sports & Youth Club), and Arkadaşlık…

Jan Nahum was born in Ankara in 1950. He attended Robert College, a renowned American school in Istanbul, and in 1973 received an M.Des. degree in automotive design from the Royal College of Art (RCA) in London. Since 1973, he has worked in various companies in the automotive industry and has sat on the executive boards of several companies. Nahum’s main areas of expertise include industrial engineering, industrial design, automotive strategic planning, and management.After working in numerous administrative positions at the Koç R&D Center (1975–1984; head of design,…