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At 78, Cemal Akca has spent 62 years working as a barber in Eminonu, having moved to Istanbul from the town of Yolustu in the Resadiye district, Tokat province.
Akca, who has run his business on Tacirhane Street in Mercan for 62 years, still opens his shop every morning and shaves his customers despite his advancing age. Introducing himself as "Cemal Akca, son of Kamil," the barber said that he has spent most of his life in the barber's chair.
Akca said his profession has given him both a livelihood and a stable life. "My life continues here," he said, adding that since his work was barbering, that was where God gave him his fortune, and that he has spent his life as a barber. "As long as I live, I will continue my life as a barber," he said.
Akca said the profession allowed him to own three apartments over the years, but added that his greatest wealth was the peace and wellbeing of his children, family and relatives, for which he said he thanked God.
Akca said he does not continue barbering out of necessity. "My friends sometimes tell me, 'If you quit this profession, you'll fall apart,'" he said. He added that when he stays home on a Sunday, a lot changes, but at his shop it is like clockwork: to work in the morning, home in the evening.
The barber said the makeup of shopkeepers in Mercan and the surrounding area had changed significantly over the years, noting that many long-established shopkeepers and merchants once based in the area no longer remain.
He said a significant portion of shopkeepers in the area had closed their shops and moved to other neighborhoods, while some of his longtime customers continue to travel long distances just to get a shave from him.
Most of the old shopkeepers have passed away, he said. "We say 'the old days,' but the old days were very different," he added, recalling that the area once had established shopkeepers and established merchants. "Merchants today don't have that old liveliness, that old character," he said.
Akca said he has no complaints about his profession but noted that under today's economic conditions, it has become difficult to make a living from barbering income alone, adding that he would struggle to get by without additional income.
Akca said decades of bending over to shave customers had affected his posture. "When shaving a customer, we inevitably bend over," he said, adding that it also becomes a habit. "I used to stand up straight, but now when I look at myself in the mirror, I've bent quite a bit, my body shape has changed," he said.
Akca said he is grateful to still be able to work despite everything, and that he has built his daily life around work, family and worship. "Thank God, we perform our prayers; I don't neglect that," he said, adding that when he has time and the opportunity, he also goes to Suleymaniye Mosque to pray. "May God accept everyone's prayers and worship," he said.
Akca said he occasionally has the chance to visit Istanbul's historic districts. Expressing his gratitude for his life and profession, he said: "No matter how much we thank God for showing us these days, it would not be enough."
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