An Upper West Sider with a passion for wildlife photography was allegedly murdered by the owner of a bed and breakfast while on vacation in Turkey, and friends are frantically lobbying for his body to be returned home for a proper Jewish burial.
Yitzhak “Igor” Alishayiv, 46, was a “gentle, trusting” friend to all in his tight-knit Orthodox Jewish community with a passion for nature, which drew him every year to the remote Gundogmus section of the southern Antalya region, some 400 miles south of Istanbul, to pursue his penchant for nature.
Alishayiv hoped to see Uçansu Waterfall, known locally as the flying waterfall. “He was a mountaineer – not a city guy,” said a longtime city friend, adding he had a soft spot for animals. “He always called them ‘sin-free.’”
But on May 3, less than two weeks into his intended six-week adventure, Alishayiv got into a heated, booze-filled argument with Ismail Kara, the owner of the bed and breakfast where he was staying for $30 a night, family and friends told The Post.
As the squabble escalated, an enraged Kara stabbed Alishayiv in the chest with a knife, Turkish media reported.
It’s unclear what the two were arguing about.
He was arrested for the grisly murder less than a week later, according to Turkish media.
“We’re all in shock – no one could have imagined this would happen,” said Sara Shulevitz Vorhand, a criminal defense attorney who co-heads the Congregation Heichal Moshe synagogue on West 91st Street, where Alishayiv worked as a custodian.
“We’re desperately trying to get the body back so we could properly say goodbye to him,” she said, noting that Jewish law calls for immediate burial.
Dealing with delays and bureaucracy has been “frustrating,” added Vorhand, noting that friends are “not getting straight answers about the status of the investigation” as the body remains in an Antalya forensic lab.
The friends also believe Turkish officials being completely transparent, raising the possibility that he was killed earlier than publicly reported, as the last contact he had with anyone was April 28, according to text messages shared with The Post.
Turkish authorities ruled out antisemitism as a motive, according to Turkiye Today.
Still, friends said they warned Alishayiv to be on high alert due to increased antisemitism in the predominantly Muslim country ahead of his trip, which he’s made for the past few years.
“We were always nervous when he went, but he always came back safe and happy,” Vorhand said, noting that his status as a dual citizen of Israel could make him a “target.”
Also, Alishayiv brought along some $40,000 worth of camera equipment, and his friends also suspect that his shocking death was a “setup” to steal the pricey lenses.
“He was considered wealthy there – it’s a very poor area,” said a friend who held money for the photographer, who was loath to travel with cash on him.
“He took everything he owned to Turkey, and we don’t know where his cameras are,” added the friend.
The last contact from Alishayiv — who pals described as an “innocent soul who only saw the good in people” – was a text asking the chum to wire a few hundred dollars.
Radio personality Rabbi Zev Brenner told The Post he’s been in touch with the mayor’s office and the state department to help retrieve the body. “It’s a tragic story, and the community is growing frustrated, compounded by the fact that we don’t have any finality.”
Brenner, who knew Alishayiv for a decade, said a violent drunken fight would have been uncharacteristic.
“Igor wasn’t a drinker,” said Brenner, who described him as a healthy, hulking “ox” with a “very strong build.
“It doesn’t make any sense. Something’s not kosher about this story.”
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