Towards the end of the 18^th century the father of his grand father, Giovanni Faruggia arrives from Malta and becomes rich. After his death, the 2m. high marble statue commissioned by his wife at the time graced the Catholic cemetery of Kançesme (Kemer). This statue in the form of a woman embracing a broken cross, through the personal intervention of the head of the Karsiyaka council was exhumed from its buried position in the garden of the Gürçeşme (Zubeyde hanım) retirement home in 1982 and today is still displayed in the Bostanlı open air ‘fine arts’ exhibition. This was reported by the local newspaper Yeni Asir at the time and the cut out is displayed in the family photograph album.

 Note: According to the Izmir British Consul Willie Buttigieg, the Kançesme Catholic cemetery was destroyed in 1981 and added that some of the better statues were transferred to the grounds of this retirement home. The exhumation of this statue a year later, suggests other statues may have also been buried here shortly after their transfer and raises the possibility of them awaiting extraction. However, the recently appointed guard of the complex knew of no such statues.

Both the grandfather and father of Mr Faruggia (also known as Galip Faruklar) were foremen in factories. His first long term work was between 1955-60 as a translator and warehouse clerk during the dismantling of the pier built by the English, known as the ‘English pier’ situated at the docks end of Alsancak. It was hard work dismantling the pier built on heavy steel girders, wooden sleepers overlain with railway tracks and the French built in its place the pier that still stands today. Later as places he worked were, the Italian Banca Commerciale, later for 25 years in the Izmir, Antalya and Iskenderun branches of Osmanlı bank rising to the level of superintendent. Until recently he worked as a clerk with the Kristal oil factory founded in the 1940s by the Maltese Mikaleff family.

The house he was born in was built on the plot of land bought by his late grandfather and built by him in the Greek stone style and was situated at the harbour (Punta) end of Alsancak. He lived here, 1472 (previously Mukaddes mezar) street near the police station for 57 years. In this area the majority of housing was single storied Greek style. In the past each house had a mulberry tree in front and daily everybody would sweep in front of their doorstep and in the evening sit out and would know everybody. On the land that today the car park and the supermarket ‘Migros’ are situated was the large warehouse of the railways (T.C.D.D.) and goods arriving from Anatolia would be unloaded from trains within this structure. This warehouse was removed 15-20 years ago. The houses in the neighbourhood through the agreements with their owners were given to developers in the 1990s. Their own house was given the clear for demolition after the inspection of the Heritage commission in 1995-6. The double storied enclosed balcony (cumba) houses were especially numerous at the seafront (1st cordon) of Alsancak and those standing today (the street in front of St. Joseph lycee etc) are under protection as listed buildings. In the 1950-60s the Italian Kapadona was the biggest developer and became rich. In the same period the sea front of Karsiyaka was also lost. Houses here were set in gardens and jasmines growing in these gardens would scent the district.

In his own time the Alsancak Levantines were almost all Catholic and in terms of numbers were of Italian, Maltese and French background in that order. In the same street he used to live also lived some of these families whose surnames still continue in Alsancak. In this street were the Buttigiegs (clerks at the Giraud factory), Serra (Maltese/English), Peter Papi (Maltese book publisher now in Istanbul) and opposite the nearby police station were the Italian Russo family who sell their mansion within a large garden, in around 1955 and the daughter still lives in Italy. In the same street also lived the elderly lady, the Greek Catholic Xenopoulo whose name no longer survives.

Mr Faruggia also presented the surviving Catholic family names, he recalled of the Punta district. As Italians, Petrini (banker/clerk), Gloghini (buying and selling farm animals), Fantasia (Claude- radio/electronics), Sergio (estate agent), Reggio (banker), Filipuci, Ferlandes, Cuicci (banker importation clerk), Bogdanich (banker).

The Maltese families of Faruggia, Rikiki, Mikaleff, Serra and Buttigieg have in the past all made the move to the more preferred areas of Alsancak, namely Mustafa bey road and 2nd Kordon. Paul Galdies, also Maltese was the Honorary British Consul in the 1970s and today his children live in England.

As French surnames, Blonche, Giss and the presently non-represented Sireilles.
The German, Mr Korn who is still in residence, worked as a clerk at Banka di Roma.

interview date 2001