Sirvictor's VirtualTourist Home Page

My father Captain of General Staff Ahmet Hulki Saral and my mother Hacer Cenan Saral on their wedding day 1940. My father is from Balkan. My mother is from Caucasus. She is a Circassian girl. They met in Turkish Anatolia and married. Normally Circassians dont give their girls to non-Circassians but he was a good looking young Staff Captain of Turkish Army.

My father Ahmet Hulki Saral leutenant of infantry with his mother, sisters, brother-in-laws and couzins in 1926

My family imigrated from village of Sofular of Kozana during the great exchange of Turks and Rums of Anatolia in 1926. There were 86 Turkish villages around Kozana. Turks lost Kozana on October 24th 1912 during the Balkan War. Since that time Greeks call the city Kozani. Kozana is situated on Northern Greece.

Our Friend Yannis from VT informed me that Sofular is called today "Kapnohori" I was searching for this name for many years. I thank him very much.

Rumeli'nin daglari var
Ne guzeldir simdi aglar
Aglama sen garip vatan
Biz geliriz yine inan.

Rumelia have mountains
They are beautiful but crying
Don't cry you beloved fatherland
Believe us we will came again.

I received this photo with the courtesy of my friend Toumpiotis alias Vangelis Mouratoglou from VT who is a grandchild of a Rum family from Anatolia.
Our both families suffered. I prey for no more sufferings.

My grandfather Hodja Ismail Efendi was the son of Hadji Osman Hodja from village of Sofular of Kozana. He studied islam theology at Fatih Medrese the school for islamic knowledge in Istanbul. After graduating from the Medrese he joined the Turkish Army as regimental Imam. He fought in Balkan Wars and was taken prisoner by the Greeks. After the peace he was released and appointed to Van in East Turkey. He took his family from Kozana which was under Greek occupation and gone to Van same 3500 kilometers away. While he was there the WW I began. He was killed in action while charging againts Russians in front of his regiment at Koprukoy/Erzurum in 1916. This is the only picture of him. May Allahs mercy on him. Allah rahmet eylesin! Dilerimki oyle olsun!