Life in a Small Town- Zohrab Kalaydjian

Today you would see Zohrab Kalaydjian in Glendale, California and you would see a modern day businessman.  He is your average 64-year-old man who gets up and goes to work every morning.  Before he came to America over 35 years ago, Zohrab Kalaydjian lived in a small town in Turkey called Inebolu.  Due to the size of this town being so cramped, there was very little residence, which caused Zohrab Kalaydjian to have only about five or six close friends there.  Inebolu is a small town on the Turkish Black Sea coast, which is where Zohrab Kalaydjian grew up.  He lived there for a while and loved to be around water, he always thought the Black Sea was a beautiful place to live by.  Even though he loved living there, he really did not have much of a choice because that is also where his parents lived.  Inebolu was your typical small town, but there were some famous Armenian actors and actresses that were born there.  There was also this one woman that the entire town knew.  She was one of the wealthier people living there, but was also a widow, because her husband had passed away. 

My name is Zohrab Kalaydjian.  I lived in Inebolu, a small town in Turkey.  This small town had very few people.  Even though it was a small town there were actually a few famous Armenian actors and actresses that were born there.  There was also this one woman that the entire town knew.  She was a generous woman that would always help the homeless and the needy.  Even though I do not remember her name, I remember that her husband had passed away, which means she was a widow.  She was also one of the wealthier people that lived in Inebolu.  Every Sunday I remember seeing her come to the church and helping all the people in need by just donating a couple of dollars.  Even though I cannot remember her name, I remember her as being a very generous woman.

Since the town was so small, I only had about 5 or 6 close friends.  There was a very small living space, which is why the there was not a lot of people.  It was probably about less than 10,000 people in the whole town.  That is why I did not have a lot of friends, and only 5 or 6 close friends.  One person that I do remember very well is Andranik.  Andranik was my best friend; he was like a brother to me.  We came to America together.  We are still best friends and see each other at least a few times a week.  We always go out together to places like restaurants.  We have known each other since we were both very young children.  We were even born in the same hospital.  The reason we are best friends and were so close is because we were neighbors and would spend every day together.  We are still very close and go everywhere together.  We are like brothers. 

You also could not be very close to every body because your friends would live in a different part of the town so it would not be like you would see them every day.  It was like everybody lived in a different corner; not everyone lived close to each other.  I did not like that, which is one of the main reasons I decided to leave Inebolu and come to America.  I had also heard that many Armenians were leaving their countries to go live a better life in America, so I came to so I could be around my people.

In Inebolu we would have gathering once a year with all the Armenians.  There were sports that we played.  We would also always gather for dinners and dance recitals.  You name we had it.  The types of sports that we would play were soccer and football most of the time.  There was also gymnastics and dance.  We had many games and activities over there.  I had a lot of memories in Inebolu.  I remember how we would all have gatherings, go fishing by the sea, do barbeque and we would get happy and enjoy ourselves.  We would eat and drink with friends, family, relatives and neighbors.  There are really to many memories to remember since I lived there for quite a while.  When it was hot and we were younger, we would go and swim in the sea after school.  As we got older, we would go after work and swim.  We would swim and fish a lot.  We would enjoy the beautiful ocean.  There is also a lot that I have forgotten.

Inebolu had a variety of education levels; most of the people that graduated high school would take an interest in the medical field and become doctors.  But not everybody graduated high school. I could say only about 20 percent of people graduated high school.  The ones that did graduate would usually either become doctors or engineers. 

The majority of Inebolu was Muslims, Kurds, and Armenians.  It also had Turkish people and Greek people.  There were really a variety of ethnicities.  There has always been racism across the world.  In Inebolu, not everyone was racist but there were a few people.  There was mainly racism against Christians.

I don’t really know who is still living in Inebolu since I have been gone for such a long time.  I don’t know who is still living or if they are dead.  I don’t know what they are doing.  Until I go there I really have no connection to them.  I need to go to see, hear, and ask about what is going on to know.  I have to go there to see what condition everyone and everything is in.  I don’t even know if the people I knew are alive or dead and buried.

I do not regret leaving Inebolu, because my life here in America is much better and richer unlike in Inebolu where the town was really poor and small.  Life in both these countries differs a lot.  The life over there was very poor.  Even though life is better here in America, I will always miss the beauty, the people, and the sea of Inebolu.  Over there was also different, because you did not have the same freedom over there that you have here in America.

Inebolu was a small town.  There were mainly tiny one story houses.  There weren’t really many big buildings.  If someone was wealthier they would live in a two story house.  It was a pretty poor town so it did not have the money to make big buildings or homes.

I don’t think that I would want to go back to live in Inebolu, but I would like to go and travel there to vacation.  Since I have been in America for over 35 years, I have gotten used to the life and the customs and everything it has.  I would not be comfortable going back there to live there.  If I want and vacationed there, then I would like to go spend time there, remember the good old days, and visit some people and places of my past.  I need to have time to go visit them to see what they are doing, how they have been, and just to see how things have been in Inebolu.  I do not have time to go there rite now because of work and everything, but I will definitely go and vacation there for a few months when I retire. 

Interviewed by Felicia Avakian