Orhan Atasoy

You've read my posts about our friend Orhan in the past and seen his recipe for "Orhan Patties".  Now I am going to tell you another story about him and share a picture.

As you will recall, we met Orhan, our Turkish friend, in 2005 while living aboard our boat in Deale, Maryland.  Our friendship grew rapidly and we soon knew we had met a very special person.  We knew little of his past, only that he was from Turkey and used to be an entertainer.  We called him our "Turkish Rock Star" because he had written and performed a very famous song, Gemiler which you can find on Youtube.

When Orhan passed away almost 3 years ago, I wrote about him here on my blog.  He touched everyone he met and we were no exception.  Here is the link to that posting.

I have had people from all over the world read my little tribute to Orhan since that date.  The most recent person to read it and write to me was James Akre, who knew Orhan and his family many years ago.  He had gone on an internet search for Orhan and ended up on my page.  He wrote to me and I put him in touch with Orhan's brother, Mutesh, who then put James in touch with Orhan's children, Cengiz and Melodi.  James and his wife were planning a trip to Istanbul so they arranged a meet up at a restaurant called Karaköy Lokantası. 


So, for those of  you who loved Orhan the way we did, here is a picture they provided me of their meeting in Istanbul.

 Jim's wife, Pia, Jim, Cengiz and Melodi.