Ahu Hettema, the owner and chef of a Turkish restaurant in Kakaako, said her parents were in Turkey on Feb. 4 when two massive earthquakes struck Turkey and Syria, killing more than 50,000 people.
“My parents were there (in Turkey) when the earthquake happened,” said Hettema. “I lost my mind for a moment — until I reached out to them, but they were okay. But many people out there are suffering right now.”
The 38-year-old chef opened Istanbul Hawaii in June 2020 with the help of her parents. Turkish food includes “many different cultures and cuisines and spices,” which date back to the Ottoman Empire, according to Hettema. The cooking of her mother, Nili Yildirim, inspired her menu.
“We cook what we ate when we were living back home and growing up,” said Hettema.
Her parents have lived in Hawaii for eight years, but they travel back to their home country two or three times a year. They visit family and also buy supplies for the restaurant, such as pistachios, sun-dried tomatoes, special peppers, cheese, butter, cured beef and spices.
Hettema also frequently returns to Turkey. Last year in October, she bought all the copper plates and tablecloths used at the restaurant from a market in Gaziantep, a city in south-central Turkey, which was devastated by the earthquake.
“Most of my things I buy from Gaziantep. Their whole bazaar was destroyed. It is just so sad. I know those people. … They sent me pictures of the shops. It’s just heartbreaking, heartbreaking. And no one is helping them,” said Hettema.
Hettema moved to Hawaii after meeting her husband in California, where she was attending college.
“My goal was just to get an education and then go back to my home,” said Hettema. “But then I met my husband in San Francisco … who happened to be living in Hawaii.”
Hettema’s husband is a marine engineer. Together, they have lived in Hawaii for 10 years. She now has dual citizenship in the U.S. and Turkey.
“We decided to live here because this place just looks like where I am from,” said Hettema. “When I came here, I was homesick … (but Hawaii is) a beautiful place, and I loved the weather in Hawaii, the air in Hawaii, so in fact it felt like home.”
Hettema is from Mersin, a large port city on the southeast coast of Turkey, which was shaken by the earthquake.
She described the death toll and destruction in Turkey as “very sad,” saying, “unfortunately, our government didn’t regulate the buildings.”
Tens of thousands of buildings in the earthquake zone collapsed because there was little enforcement of construction codes that would have created earthquake-resistant homes.
“We do have a terrible leader,” said Hettema, referring to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “There was a delay of response, so that made many, many more people to die, unfortunately."
In Turkey, rescue operations were slow, hindering the chance of survival for those buried in the rubble.
On March 13 and 14, Istanbul Hawaii will host a fundraiser for earthquake relief. A special menu will be available, and the restaurant will auction Turkish items and paintings by Hawaii-based artist Leni Acosta Knight.
“Whatever we can do, we will try to do, but the whole situation is very sad … the people who survive (are) also dying from cold right now because it's so cold in those regions. And they don't have enough shelters. They don't have enough food supply. They don't have just basic human needs,” said Hettema.
Michelle Broder Van Dyke covers the Hawaiian Islands for Spectrum News Hawaii. Email her at michelle.brodervandyke@charter.com.