Some may know Bodrum as a pleasant vacation spot in Southwestern Turkey. Few, however, would know this town as the home of a small but influential Jewish community that thrived until the mid-20th century. In this book, artist and researcher C. M. Kösemen uses historic sources and interviews to flesh out the first comprehensive overview of this little-known Sephardic community.

Here you will find compelling stories and poignant memories; of ancient Jewish settlements in the remote corners of the Bodrum peninsula; of pleasant family relations between Turks and Jews; of wartime hardships and near-escapes; of people like Janet Akyüz Mattei, who went on to become one of the world’s greatest astrophysicists; of Abraham Galante the historian; and more…

Illustrated with detailed black-and-white photographs and annotated with footnotes that explain local nuances, this book also contains a touristic itinerary of Judaic sites in the vicinity of Bodrum.

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Introduction

Notes on names and spelling

Dramatis personae - notable Jewish residents of Bodrum

Surrounding Jewish communities: Milas, Kos, Rhodes, Antalya, Marmaris, Köyceğiz, Fethiye

The ancient history of Bodrum's Jews

Bodrum's Jews towards the 20th century

The Bodrum Jewish community in Abraham Galante's Histoire des Juifs de Turquie

Abraham Galante's life in his own words

Bodrum's Jews in Turkish memoirs

Bodrum's Jews as remembered by Haris Tengiz

Bodrum's Jews in the memoirs of Hüseyin Ayaz

Memories of Bodrum's Jews and "Avram's Slope" as told by Mehmet "Dalavera" Özgüreli

Bodrum's Jewish Community in the memoirs of Selçuk Erez

Hebrew inscriptions and a Jewish antiques smuggler at the Bodrum Castle, as told by Cahit Kayra

Confusions about "Avram's Slope", Avram Galanti and Abraham Galante

Bodrum's Jews and "Avram's Slope" in the memoirs of Hüseyin Yeter Şakar

"Avram's Slope" today

The remnants of Bodrum's Jewish heritage, as witnessed by Ayşe Gürsan-Salzmann and Laurence Salzmann

Views and details from the Bodrum Jewish Cemetery

Bodrum's Jews as remembered by Orhan Dumanlı

Bodrum's Jews as remembered by Mediha Dumanlı (b. 1919)

Bodrum's Jews as remembered by Bekir Çelik (b. 1936)

Views of Eski Hükümet Street, Bodrum's old Jewish quarter

Bodrum in the memories of Hayim Akyüz

Bodrum in the memories of Kadem Şenkal

The life and legacy of Janet Akyüz Mattei

The life and accomplishments of Rafael Akyüz

"The Jew who told he was Muslim": The tribulations of Gabriel Kapuloto

Conclusion: Bodrum today

Appendix: A touristic itinerary of Bodrum's Jewish sites

Appendix: Names from the Bodrum Jewish Cemetery

Appendix: Data on asteroid 11695 Mattei - named in honour of Janet Akyüz Mattei

Appendix: Surnames from a 3000-name family tree of Jews from Rhodes and Turkey by Victor Alkana & Petros Michailidis/p>

Bibliography and further reading

Index