Samuel and Fortune Coyas

This is a picture of me dancing with my daughter Fortune Tuna at the party we gave for the bar mitzvah of our son Yasef Jojo. This was in June in 1965, on a Saturday. The party took place at the Lido Club at Ortakoy. It was a beautiful summer night. My daughter was wearing a light blue dress. We had had it made specially for that night to the Greek dressmaker Marina in Kuzguncuk. We had rehearsed a few times at home for that night’s dance. We celebrated my son’s Barmitzva in 1965, in the Beth Yaakov Synagogue (lower synagogue) in Kuzguncuk. His uncle Liya prepared his speech. All the family bought new outfits for this special day. My wife had the dress-maker Evantiya, sew a new dress for her to wear at the synagogue and feast, given at night. She rented her hat from the famous hat dealer, Katya, in Beyoglu. The synagogue was filled with our friends, relatives, and neighbors. We gave out candies at the end of the ceremony. We also entertained our close friends, at a dinner party, which we gave at the Lido Hall, in Ortakoy. The season was summer, and hence the party took place outside near the pool. The guests were entertained with dance music played by the orchestra. "Lido" was among the most popular entertainment halls of the time. I danced the first dance with my daughter, while my wife danced with her son.