The tale of Turkey’s 60-year-old alehouse
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Vercihan Ziflioğlu
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mart 31, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Despite her death in 2006, Madame Despina’s fame will live on, as the new owner of her historic alehouse, seeks to register the Madam Despina Meyhanesi and open a branch in Paris. He believes that it will bacome a bridge between Turkey and Greece.
Though from the small island of Gökçeada, Despina Kanda always dreampt big and her greatest wish was to someday move to the bustling Istanbul.
Kanda was born in 1924 to Greek parents. When she was just 14, Kanda took her small suitcase and boarded a ship, though she had no idea what she would do or where she would stay.
It was still years before she would become the famous "Madame Despina." Kanda settled in Tatavla (Kurtuluş) in Istanbul’s Şişli district, which was home to many Greeks. In 1940, she started running a casino owned by Madame Teresa in Moda. While she worked, she began dreaming of opening her own alehouse.
She became Turkey’s first female enterpreneur
This dream came true a few years later, when Kanda opened a small place in the Esentepe neighborhood of Şişli, the precursor to Despina, which she opened in Tatavla in 1946. Thus Kanda became Turkey’s first female entrepreneur. Known as Madame Despina, she operated the alehouse for more than 60 years, during which its fame spread beyond Turkey. Shortly before her death in 2006, she handed the alehouse over to Ercan Tekin.
Determined to keep Despina alive, Tekin has applied to the Council of Monuments to register its name as a brand and also wants to establish a foundation. He has worked for the registration and preservation of historical places and brands including Apik İşkembecisi (in Dolapdere), Cumhuriyet Meyhanesi (in Beyoğlu), Kör Agop (in Kumkapı), Agora Meyhanesi, Vefa Bozacısı, Nimet Abla Gişesi, Zeynel Abidin Cümbüş, and Sabuncakis. "Istanbul will become the [cultural] capital of Europe in 2010," he told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. "We need to think about how to reflect our history and culture rather than how to host our guests."
"If Despina is institutionalized and preserved, the district of Kurtuluş might become a cultural bridge between Turkey and Greece," Tekin said. "Once upon a time, this was a place where the Greek population was dense. There is a historic [Greek] church, school, and graveyard."
When Europeans think of Turks and Turkey, Tekin said, they think only of lahmacun (Turkish pizza) and kebab. He is determined to change this image and is considering opening the first branch of the Despina alehouse in Paris in the very near future. "We will open branches not only in Paris but in other big European cities," he said. "The ethnic identity of our partners is not important, but they should be from Anatolia."
Tekin would like to see the people of Anatolia cooperate in an enjoyable manner to open new branches in Europe, saying that such an initiative would be very beneficial to Turkey. "Promoting Despina in the middle of Europe [could] equal millions of dollars of promotion [for Turkey]," he said. "In this way, [Europeans] will also see what a tolerant country we are."
Kanda was born in 1924 to Greek parents. When she was just 14, Kanda took her small suitcase and boarded a ship, though she had no idea what she would do or where she would stay.
It was still years before she would become the famous "Madame Despina." Kanda settled in Tatavla (Kurtuluş) in Istanbul’s Şişli district, which was home to many Greeks. In 1940, she started running a casino owned by Madame Teresa in Moda. While she worked, she began dreaming of opening her own alehouse.
She became Turkey’s first female enterpreneur
This dream came true a few years later, when Kanda opened a small place in the Esentepe neighborhood of Şişli, the precursor to Despina, which she opened in Tatavla in 1946. Thus Kanda became Turkey’s first female entrepreneur. Known as Madame Despina, she operated the alehouse for more than 60 years, during which its fame spread beyond Turkey. Shortly before her death in 2006, she handed the alehouse over to Ercan Tekin.
Determined to keep Despina alive, Tekin has applied to the Council of Monuments to register its name as a brand and also wants to establish a foundation. He has worked for the registration and preservation of historical places and brands including Apik İşkembecisi (in Dolapdere), Cumhuriyet Meyhanesi (in Beyoğlu), Kör Agop (in Kumkapı), Agora Meyhanesi, Vefa Bozacısı, Nimet Abla Gişesi, Zeynel Abidin Cümbüş, and Sabuncakis. "Istanbul will become the [cultural] capital of Europe in 2010," he told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. "We need to think about how to reflect our history and culture rather than how to host our guests."
"If Despina is institutionalized and preserved, the district of Kurtuluş might become a cultural bridge between Turkey and Greece," Tekin said. "Once upon a time, this was a place where the Greek population was dense. There is a historic [Greek] church, school, and graveyard."
When Europeans think of Turks and Turkey, Tekin said, they think only of lahmacun (Turkish pizza) and kebab. He is determined to change this image and is considering opening the first branch of the Despina alehouse in Paris in the very near future. "We will open branches not only in Paris but in other big European cities," he said. "The ethnic identity of our partners is not important, but they should be from Anatolia."
Tekin would like to see the people of Anatolia cooperate in an enjoyable manner to open new branches in Europe, saying that such an initiative would be very beneficial to Turkey. "Promoting Despina in the middle of Europe [could] equal millions of dollars of promotion [for Turkey]," he said. "In this way, [Europeans] will also see what a tolerant country we are."