Grandpa Salamon Benardete, my mother's father, was born circa 1890, in Çanakkale, Turkey, to Sara and Mair Benardete. He had two brothers (Yirmiya and Yosef) and sister (Lea).

He married Ms. Roza Penso in Çanakkale. They had no children.

Around the year 1910, Salamon and Roza Benardete left Çanakkale. First, they settled in Biga, Turkey, and afterward in Bursa, Turkey.

Apparently, Grandpa made a pilgrimage journey to sacred places in Jerusalem as people named him "Hadji Salamon Benardete" (it was a custom in Turkey to add the title Hadji to the name of those who made a pilgrimage).

Grandpa widowed in 1914.

After the death of his first wife Roza Benardete, Grandpa married Kadem Saban, in Bursa.

Salamon and Kadem Benardete

Salamon and Kadem Benardete had eight children: Roza, Sara (my mother), Mair, Vito (Victoria), Korin, Nisim, Inez and, Yosef.

Salamon and Kadem Benardete
in wedding of Mair and Aneta Benardete

Grandpa and Grandma lived in a large house in Altıparmak Street, Bursa.

Grandpa was a prosperous merchant of gold coins, but he lost his assets in November 1942, because of the "wealth/capital tax" (in Turkish: Varlık Vergisi). Officially, the tax was for all citizens (Muslim and non-Muslim). However, specifically, the non-Muslim citizens had to pay substantial amounts.

Grandpa Salamon Benardete passed away in 1951, in Bursa.

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