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Family values Jak Kamhi, Gördüklerim, Ya§adiklanm (Remzi Kitabevi: Istanbul, 2013), 472 pp. ISBN: 9789751415547
Born in 1925, the prominent Turkish industrialist and businessman Jak Kamhi kept a diary in one form or another from the age of 15. His autobiography, "Gördüklerim, Ya$adiklanm" (What I've seen, what I've experienced), was published by Remzi Kitabevi in 2013. Kamhi did indeed witness -and influence - a significant part of Turkey's republican history. Dedicated to his son Hayati Kamhi, who sadly committed suicide in 2012, in this book Kamhi tells his own story starting from his birth in the cosmopolitan Tepeba$r quarter of Beyoglu.
The book begins with Kamhi's family background, his childhood and his youth. Adorned with numerous photos, his work also offers some useful information about the history of Jews and Jewish culture in Turkey.
Kamhi was bom into a large and well-established Ladino and French-speaking Sephardi family. "Some may say I am exaggerating," he states, but his family owned "most of the land on the shores of Golden Horn, from Unkapam to Eyüp." Kamhi's great-grandfather wrote a book on 12th century Hebrew grammar and his inventor uncle Daniel Kamhi reinvented glue and toothpaste during wartime.
According to Kamhi, his crowded family would have long dinners for at least 12 guests every night in spacious dining rooms. Kamhi considers himself one of those "lucky people who had a library in the house." His father's office was a converted Ottoman hamam.
Kamhi stepped into the business world at an early age. "When your expenses increase, don't pinch and scrape, make sure you earn more," his uncle Bensiyon Kamhi advised him when his 25 kuru$ weekly allowance was no longer enough. The author shares 29 golden rules for business and life....