Everyone has a family member or a friend who effect their life in a good or bad way. In this section we would like to introduce you an unforgettable family member in our family history who changed our lives in a perfect way : Sofia Cakiroglu - Never forget ..
Sofia Cakiroglu was born in 1922 in Sariyer, Istanbul. Her father Niko was a gardener who we don't have any information about him, and her mother Kiryaki was from Chios Island. The childhood of Sofia passed in the garden that his father was responsible of in Bahçeköy, Sarıyer.
Sofia was the cousin of Theodora Koskeri, grandmother of my mother.Her mother Kiryaki was nursing mother of Theodora so they grew up like sisters, more than cousins. On the photograph you can see Kiryaki, Sofia, Theodora and Loxandra, their grandmother. Because of this relationship, then Sofia became an effective member of Koulourgioti family.
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Let me explain you more about Akasi family.
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Kiryaki Akasi , the mother of Sofia had five more sibligns : Fotini, Theodoros, Gianni, Yorgo & Anasto.
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On the right, you see Theodoros sitting, Kiryaki and Niko standing behind. Theodoros was a soldier and he died in Greek-Turkish War. For his memory, his name given to the daugher of Fotini, Theodora Akasi. Then from Theodora Akasi to Theodora Koulurgioti.
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Unfortunately we don't have photographs of Gianni, Yorgo and Anasto in our family archieves but we are still searching. But as Sofia told us before, we know that Yorgo had lost his arm during fishing with dynamits.
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Well then, how Kiryaki became the nursing mother of Theodora and Sofia grew up together with her as sisters ? How Sofia became an important member of our family ? The sister of Kiryaki, Fotini Akasi had to leave Istanbul and went to Salamina under difficult conditions of that time. Loxandra, the grandmother, told Fotini to leave Theodora here in Sarıyer, as she thought it will be safer and better. Fotini did what she told, and Theodora started to live together with Loxandra and Kiryaki.
Theodora and Sofia grew up like sisters more than cousins... They were one of the beautiful girls in Sarıyer and well-known in famous Bülbül Sokak.
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After Theodora married with Nicholas Koskeri, they had three children : Maria-Antoinette, Alexandra and Lambrini.
Maria-Antoinette is one of the main characters of our e-museum as she was the mother of Theodora Koulurgioti, the wife of Stavros Vafiadis.
Sofia raised Maria-Antoinette, baptised Alexandra and took care of Lambrini as a perfect 'aunt'. Not only those names, she had an effective role in the life of Theodora Koulurgioti, the daughter of Maria-Antoinette, and me ,Dimitri Vafiadis, as she was my godmother.
To be a godmother is too important that we can easily say those people came after mother and father by importance. Sofia was a perfect godmother, she was my second mother, grandmother, bestfriend and more. I still see her in my dreams and wait for her guidance for the rest of my life.
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Sofia died in 2012 and i lived together with her for 28 years, since i was born. I always felt like that she must be told to our next generations. This article has been written to remember her and her roots.
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* Written according to memories that told by Sofia Cakiroglu and Theodora Koulurgioti.
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Written by : 2mi3, August 2018