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1960s Roadtrip in Turkey / Vafiadis Family at the House of the Virgin Mary, Ephesus – Looking at the Vafiadis family’s photographs from the 1960s, it becomes clear that they often traveled within Turkey. During these years, Aleko Vafiadis, together with his wife Giuseppina, his mother Ashen, and their three children, went by car to Bursa, Ankara, İzmir and many other cities, taking numerous photographs wherever they went. Among this archive of journeys, the abundance of images from the House of the Virgin Mary in Ephesus is particularly striking. Moreover, these photographs are not from a single visit; judging by the children’s changing ages, they belong to different occasions. It seems that every time the family traveled to İzmir, they made sure to visit the House of Mary. These repeated visits suggest that the site was, for them, not only a place of religious significance but also a family tradition, a familiar stop woven into their journeys.

Here in this taken in the early , Giuseppina Sanzoni, her mother-in-law Ashen Mıgırdician, and the Vafiadis siblings can be seen behind the cars, losing under the shade of a large plane tree. The children, dressed all in white, radiate the joy of a festive day. Who knows—perhaps this visit coincided with August 15, the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin. Although the photograph itself carries no written indication that it was taken in , within the family memory the place is remembered vividly; the black car in the background with its license plate further reinforces the recollection.

The House of the Virgin Mary was rediscovered in the 19th century, following the visions reported by the mystic nun Anne Catherine Emmerich. According to tradition, the Apostle John brought Mary to this stone house, where she spent the final years of her life. While the site has long been recognized as a major Catholic pilgrimage center, it is also venerated by the Orthodox. Thus, the Vafiadis family’s repeated visits carry significance not only within their personal memory but also within the shared heritage of both Christian traditions.

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1970s, The Days in Sarıyer / Koulurgioti Family in Canlı Balık Restaurant - Once again we are in Sarıyer, Canlı Balık Restaurant. Canlı Balık was one of the popular fish restaurants of Istanbul, near in Sarıyer. According to information that we learnt from our ancestors, in the begining Canlı Balık Restaurant was owned by an gentleman (some stories tell that he was ) but then it has been sold to Urcan, a well known gentleman in Sarıyer. As the old name of the restaurant was so popular, the new owner changed the name of restaurant to 'Urcan Canlı Balık Restaurant'. It was so famous that we can find information about this place in Kocu’s famous Encyclopedia.

Canlı Balık Restaurant has an important place in the memories of our family members because of Dimitrios Koulurgioti who worked here between the years 1960s and . Naturally, Dimitrios had many memories as he worked here day and night. He saw many famous faces here: Marlon Brando, Burt Lancaster, James Baldwin… We know that he met with Burt Lancaster as he told us before. Maybe Dimitrios had the chance to listen Zeki Müren during his visits.

This restaurant also hosted some of the Koulurgioti family’s special occasions. The place was beautiful, close to home, and the father worked there—so naturally, coming here must have seemed like a great idea. This photo was taken on one of those days. Here on this photograph, you see Andonia Koulurgioti together with her son Niko, daughter Golfo and nephew Hristo in between two infants.

On the wall, there is a large frame containing photographs. Although the faces are not very clear, the photos belong to the staff of the Canlı Balık Restaurant. Who knows, maybe Dimitrios is also among the people in these shots. We do have photographs of him with this team in our archive.

Although the Canlı Balık Restaurant no longer exists, it remains in the memories of many people from that era—whether they were from or not.

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