Semahat Arsel recounts childhood memories with her brother Rahmi Koç: 'I spent my life protecting Rahmi from my mother and father'

The Vehbi Koç Foundation has launched a new podcast series titled "Vehbi Koç Foundation Conversations" to mark its 55th anniversary. The first guest of the series was Semahat Arsel, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Vehbi Koç Foundation and a member of the Koç Holding Board of Directors.

In the interview featured in Koç Holding's Bizden Haberler magazine, Semahat Arsel shared her childhood in Ankara during the early years of the Republic, her relationships with her family, and the traditions of that era with listeners.

"FAMILIES WERE MUCH MORE DISCIPLINED IN OUR CHILDHOOD THAN THEY ARE TODAY"

Semahat Arsel described what it was like to be a child in Ankara during the conversation:

“Ankara was generally the center of Turkey and the capital of the Republic, so it was more controlled compared to other cities, especially Istanbul. In my childhood, Ankara was just beginning to develop. It was so orderly and beautiful that I used to compare it to a small Swiss city.

Families were much more disciplined in our childhood than they are today. Our Koç family was like that too. There was no endless shopping. Our clothing and attire were all measured. We mostly did wholesale shopping because the number of stores in Ankara was very small compared to today. Since transportation was also difficult, people mostly socialized with neighbors. Women and children didn't go into the city much. Schools were near where one lived. Women would visit neighbors. However, the gentlemen would go to the city center and their workplaces.”

"THERE WAS A STRONG BOND BETWEEN US"

Semahat Arsel also shared her memories of Rahmi Koç:

“My mother was very involved with us. I don't remember ever fighting with Rahmi, whether it was because he was a boy and I was a girl, or because of how we were raised. Children usually squabble, you know, over toys and such. I don't remember ever fighting with Rahmi. He had his own toys, and I had mine. We got along very well, and it stayed that way until the end. I spent my life protecting Rahmi from my mother and father.

“My younger sisters, those two used to fight a lot. They would grab each other's toys. That's how I knew that because our toys were separate, we probably never clashed. There was a strong bond between us: protecting each other from my mother and father. There was a very beautiful area at the Tarabya Tokatlıyan. The entertainment of that era took place there. Rahmi wanted to go there at night. It wasn't like today where everyone has a car. There was only one car.

Without my father noticing, Rahmi would get in that car, go to Tarabya, and come back. At night, we would put the car back in the garage without anyone noticing. I swear, I would wait upstairs. We both slept at the very top of the house. My mother and father's rooms were in the back. Rahmi would go out. It would be midnight, 1:00 AM, and he still wouldn't be back. I would still be waiting on the balcony. He would come, and I would go downstairs and open the door without waking our parents. We would put the car in the garage.”

News Source: 12punto