Karel Valansi'nin kaleminden...

In the past, when  Adio Kerida (Goodbye my Beloved)  was sung at the end of a Jewish ceremony in Turkey, some had tears in their eyes and some had their hands on their hearts. However, this time it was sung, the 500-year old requiem that symbolizes the yearning of Sephardic Jews had a whole different meaning. All the Jews of this land and especially the Thrace Jews who were expelled from their homes in 1934, sang this song as “one” – with pure joy. And this time the tears that ran down their cheeks were tears of joy instead of tears of sadness. March 26, 2015, was a historical day for Edirne and the Turkish Jews. For the first time in my life, I was attending an opening ceremony of a synagogue. And I was sure it was a first for most of us as well. Almost a thousand people came to the big opening. The plans had been made weeks ago. The buses were organized. The lunch boxes to be given to guests were prepared in accordance with Kashrut laws. A scarf and a kippah were given...

Adio Kerida (Goodbye my Beloved), a sad song about the expulsion of Sephardic Jews from Spain and Portugal, two countries they called home, echoed cheerfully through the walls of Edirne Great Synagogue during its re-opening ceremony. When this meaningful song was sung altogether once again at the end of the ceremony, some had tears in their eyes and some had their hands on their hearts. However, this five hundred years old requiem that symbolizes the yearning of Sephardic Jews had a whole different meaning, this time. All the Jews of this land and especially the Thrace Jews who were expelled from their homes in 1934, sang this song as “one”, with pure joy. And this time the tears that ran down their eyes were tears of joy instead of tears of sadness.

I was excited; this is the best word to describe my feelings that day. Every detail of the ceremony had been worked on for weeks. We were going to Ankara! And to commemorate the Holocaust nonetheless, this was huge! The victims of the Holocaust were officially going to be commemorated in my country, as it will be in many other countries. And in Ankara, at the heart of Turkey!