AL MONITOR
by Nektaria Petrou
August 14, 2014
Fifty years ago, Istanbul’s famous Istiklal Avenue was home to upscale boutiques operated by native Greek and Jewish families. Today, Kelebek Corset Shop, Istiklal’s last historic minority business, is facing eviction. Ilya Avramoglu, who manages the shop for his 92-year-old father Borya, claims that their landlord, Saint Mary Draperis Roman Catholic Church, has decided to terminate its 78-year relationship with the family. Turkey’s new landlord-tenant law, he explains, allows landlords to evict tenants of more than 10 years without legal justification.
Known in the 19th century as the Grand Rue de Pera, Istiklal Avenue had its own merchant culture. Business owners and their clients built friendships, enjoyed tea and coffee together and looked after each other. No man dared show himself on Istiklal unless he was wearing a suit and tie; women were reluctant to be seen in anything but their best dresses and hats. Istiklal’s heyday came to a sudden end, however, on Sept. 6, 1955. In one night, the avenue’s minority shops were reduced to rubble and many Greek homes were invaded and damaged. Afterward, Greeks emigrated en masse. Many of Istanbul’s Jews, also affected by the pogrom, followed. The grand avenue and its beautiful Ottoman-era buildings crumbled, but a few stubborn old-time shopkeepers continued operating in their landmark locations until very recently. Now only Kelebek Corset Shop remains.
Surrounded by the generic chain stores and fast food restaurants, Kelebek stands out like a museum piece. Its shop window is filled with men’s and women’s corsets, bras and other undergarments displayed on neat headless mannequins. Behind the glass hangs a modest wooden panel bearing the shop’s name. Everything looks as if it has been transported by time machine from the 1950s. Yet its orthopedic hosiery and corsets are still in demand. Turkey’s film and television industries make regular orders for their casts, and many locals of both sexes would not dream of buying undergarments anywhere else.
“My parents are Karaite Jewish Turks, and my wife and children are Sephardic,” says Avramoglu, switching between Turkish and Greek. “My family has lived in Istanbul since Byzantine times. My grandfather opened his first corset shop in Terkos Arcade, across the way, in the 1920s. Back then there were no corset factories in Turkey. Armenian, Greek, Jewish and Turkish women sewed made-to-order corsets in their homes and delivered them to us. In 1936 my grandfather moved the business to this location.”…..
ArchitectGuy on Israel 