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Author Begüm Fırat sheds light on the history and culture of Sephardic Jews living in Turkey for 6 centuries in her book “Coya”, which includes real life stories. The author's book, who wrote the difficult life of his mother's grandmother Coya with the concepts of faith, family, love, love and friendship, was completed in 2019, sent to publishing houses and met with its readers in August of this year.

*** This release is originally published in Turkish.
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ISTANBUL (TR) - Period series, the number of which is increasing with the spread of online series platforms, sheds light on different periods of history. Adapted from books, mostly inspired by real life stories, the series also brings cultural and sociological events from the past to the present. Author Begüm Fırat deals with the lives of Sephardic Jews, who became popular with her period TV series, in her book "Coya", which bears the same name as her mother's grandmother. It tells about Sephardic Jews who immigrated to Ottoman lands in 1492 through the eyes of one of the members of this community, Coya. Begüm Fırat said, “The period series made Sephardic Jews and the Ladino language one of the leading topics researched on search engines and book sales sites. It gave me great pleasure that this subject was on the agenda and discussed at the same time as the book I was writing. No effort or struggle goes unrewarded, the truth emerges in hearts that believe in it, and the love and compassion within us guide us to the truth and beauty. In my book, in which I divide the lives of Sephardic Jews into certain periods, which began with their arrival in these lands, I deal with a real life story together with the dimensions of love, faith, different time and space.”

Include real people and events

Author Begüm Fırat gives place to real people and events in her book, which she fictionalized from the life story of Coya, a member of the Sephardic community that has lived in Turkey for generations. Commenting on her book, Begüm Fırat said, “My book begins with the forced migration journey of Coya's ancestors from the Iberian Peninsula to Turkey. In addition to the love and belief that guided this journey, I tell the different events that gave identity to the life of Coya, the daughter of a Jewish family who has lived in Manisa for nearly 400 years. The loss of Coya's family due to the wealth tax of the period, the fact that he had to raise his daughter, who was born out of love with Ali, alone, and the cruise he had to make to Israel with his brother, Isaac, shape my book.”

Great love of Muslim man and Jewish woman

Author Begüm Fırat, who deals with the difficult life of Coya as a woman within the framework of the concepts of faith, family, love and friendship, brings to her lines the sincerity that these concepts add to life. The author explained the subject with these words: “In my book, in which I narrate the events of that period through the eyes of different female characters, I describe the real events with all their nakedness. I am describing the great love between a Muslim man and a Jewish woman, in the midst of the difficulties of the period. I present the effects of concepts such as faith, family, love, romance and friendship to the readers with examples.”