SULTAN
 I grew up in a neighborhood, not in a building. With our neighbors.
 For a few years, starting when I was 9, we were tenants of Sultan and Yusuf. Don't take my word for "sister" for granted; she was actually a friend of my grandmother's who passed away a few years before I was born, so I must have started using the word "sister" because I heard it from my parents.
 My grandmother was a healer, a midwife, and a mother. Her fellow citizens who came to Istanbul would visit her, she would run to the homes of the sick, and she would open the way for those who insisted on coming into the world. Everyone called her "aunt."
 While we were her tenants, Sultan Abla struck me as very interesting. Her curly hair, coiled around her head, harmonized perfectly with her plump body. She always had jewelry on her neck and wrists. Every day, she'd wear colorful beads, as if to dazzle me. I couldn't tell if she was grumpy or affectionate that day, and she'd give me bananas or candy. My hangouts in front of the house, playing with cats and ants, were a joy.
 But speaking of sugar, the person worth mentioning is her sister, Pamuk! Pamuk is cotton. Let my claim be written down: her heart is definitely made of cotton. She still holds the Pamuk position in the neighborhood. She went to school at seventy, never sat idle; she did work and went out to spread love and wisdom. May she live long!
 Even if I forget everything about Sultan sister, I will not forget her beads. It did not matter whether she was doing work at home or going out for a walk, she was a sultan and her energy would shine through the beads like a talisman.
 If they are talking to my grandmother somewhere now, I made Sultan Necklaces to tell them that they are the great sultans of their small neighborhood. =)
 And to honor them and keep their memory and charity alive, even if only symbolically, I will donate half of the proceeds from the necklaces.
 May their souls rest in peace.

 In memory of our beloved neighbor Sultan sister and grandmother..