Hacik has sent me an email which I have cut and pasted below. I wonder how many times over the course of history one family may have changed their names due to the same or similar reasons.
Thank you so much for your interest in researching the Izmirian family tree. I will endeavour to give you a short version of our family background.
As you know, my family surname is "Istanbul" but the original name was "Sareyan" Our family dates back about three generations from Northern Syria where my Great Grand Father came from. During the 1850's our family moved to the village of Bebek (meaning baby) which is about 140 kms southeast of Ankara in present day Turkey. There they farmed and grew wheat until 1915 (Armenian Genocide) when they were forced to leave by the Turkish army. All Armenians in the village were forced to leave the village within the day and only take whatever they could carry with them. My Grand Father "Hacik" (from whom I carry the same name) decided to flee to the city of Istanbul. My father "Yeprem" was ony 2 yrs old at the time. When entering Istanbul, the city officials asked my Grand Father of their family name in order to register them. My Grand Father replied that their last name was"Istanbul" to avoid persecution or possible death.
Let me know if there is anything that you need to further your research Stephen.
Best Wishes
Hacik
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Hey :), When did you go visit? I heard the situations is a bit harsh in that area these days. Probably the whole israel-turkey relationship being tricky. well, What can we do. Let the leaders make their own mistakes. But it's nice to see you had some good time and took amazing pictures.
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