Handwritten Ladino Letter Judeo-Spanish Sephardic Jewish Galata Istanbul Judaica For Sale

1938 Istanbul Ladino Letter Beki to Sarah Nahmias Ankara Sephardic Jewish Judeo-Spanish
A remarkable six-page handwritten letter in Ladino (Judeo-Spanish), dated November 25, 1938, written by Beki (a sister of Sarah) in Istanbul to Sarah in Ankara. Written in the flowing Latin-script Ladino characteristic of educated Istanbul Sephardic women of the period.
Beki describes conditions on a ship compartment (kamareta), noting that night service had begun early. She mentions everything in the city being closed — shops shut on both Saturday and Sunday — and that people were eating only bread and avoiding cafes, with homes looking sad like Yom Kippur but more so. She describes a public demonstration in Pera (Beyoğlu) during which some shops had their windows broken, though not many disturbances. She mentions that many people were said to have died in the resulting disorder (kalabalik). An uncle (el tijo) had suffered a serious fall from the roof (haya), apparently fracturing his skull, and had been in hospital for six days; Fany and the aunt\'s husband had moved to stay near her so she would not be alone. Beki and their mother visited the uncle at hospital. She describes receiving Nessim (Joseph\'s son), who brought a letter for Jacques and received a receipt; paying him 1 lira and giving him some injections which he would take to Joseph. She notes Nessim asked how Sarah was in Ankara and she replied that she had much cold, but that here the times were very good and not as cold. She mentions the Gazi films (Los Cines) — newsreels of Atatürk — having arrived in Istanbul, with the whole story of the Gazi being shown, but that they themselves had not yet seen them. She urges Sarah to take care of her health, not to think of sadness, and to eat well. Closes with abundant greetings from Jacques and Grand Mama, many kisses from her sister who loves her, signed Beki. A deeply human and historically vivid document from the heart of Istanbul\'s Sephardic community in the troubled autumn of 1938.

• Gazi films refer to documentary footage, newsreels, and certain special screenings that Mustafa Kemal Atatürk encouraged, personally watched, approved, or commissioned script drafts for, during the early years of the Republic, particularly around the 1930s, with the aim of using cinema as a means of conveying modernization and reforms to the public.

Fromthe heritage of the Savariego surname is a recognized Sephardic Jewish family name in Istanbul and the broader Ottoman world. Like many Jewish families in Galata, the Savaryegos would have been descendants of the Sephardic Jews who arrived from Spain and Portugal after 1492. In the 1940s, professional Jews — doctors, merchants, artisans — built their lives in Galata, a neighborhood with many synagogues.
Historically significant, this is a nice collector’s item—ideal for collectors focused on history, cultural ephemera, politics, religion or the evolution of social history. A standout antique document addition to any eye-catching unique collection.
Measures 21 x 28 centimeters (approx.)
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Please examine the listing, some bent corners, era folds, small tears and slight stains due to their genuine antique aging.As is antique good condition, what you see is what you will get. We try to present the real state of the object as completely as possible with photos.
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