This lovely lady was unearthed the other day from a box buried in Nick's study. She is Emilie, Nick's grandmother's older sister. This studio photo was taken in Egypt when Emilie was probably in her late 30's - many members of this family had white hair before they turned 40. Originally from Smyrna (now Izmir), Emilie and her husband left for Egypt long before her sister Anna (Nick's Yiayia)arrived there as a refugee in the 1920's.It was in response to her older sister's urgings that the widowed Anna and her 3 young children left the inhospitable refugee camp in Athens and arrived in Alexandria, 1 year after their forced departure from their mountain village of Kouklouja overlooking the beautiful and once predominantly Greek port city of Smyrna.
Emile's eyes and eyebrows remind me a little of Stefanie's.
Yes, there does seem to be a resemblance in the eyes. What a fascinating story. I love the way you know all the facts. Our family have forgotten many things. They'll remain secrets of the dead.
ReplyDeleteYes, my husband seems to have all sorts of obscure information tucked away in the recesses of his memory - the enduring nature of oral history passed down through the generations, slightly homeric. My family hasn't been so assiduous.
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