As a twenty year old, Yunus Kurtbay left Istanbul, a city that shares two continents, Europe and Asia and came to San Francisco. He had a small scholarship from Turkey and savings from his days and nights as a concierge at the Hilton Hotel in Istanbul.

“I had the hardships any new immigrant undergoes. I had to improve my English. I came here by myself, no family. I had to learn the culture; actually I had to find my place in this culture.”

It was 1981 and at that time Yunus thought he would study Hotel Administration and he got a job as a Pastry Chef at the now defunct Le Joulins.

“It was on the job training and I learned a little French.”

His studies began at City College. He was impressed with the plethora of choices of study and career opportunities. He was drawn to culinary arts, chemistry and health care.

“You can study whatever you want if you’re willing to do the work.”

He continued at UC Berkeley and received two Bachelor’s Degrees: Microbiology Immunology and Psychological Optics.

“One of the blessings of Berkeley is that they don’t just give you information, they teach you to think like a researcher.”

And this is the path Yunus thought he would travel. As an undergraduate he worked in a cell laboratory and examined mitosis and studied experiments that explored various drugs for glaucoma.

“As interesting as it was, it can be tedious and lonely. I like to talk.”

For the next five years he continued at Berkeley’s School of Optometry, and since 1997 he has his own practice on Irving Street, Optometrix.

Many of his patients perform visually demanding tasks in their everyday lives.

“I have patients that are editors, film makers, game designers, videographers, computer analysts.”

As with all of his patients he wants to see how they function visually. He checks their focus, eye muscles, color vision and depth perception.

“Our eyes connect to the rest of the body. Part of my job is to educate my patients.”

Dr. Kurtbay tells me he is a very visual person. I urge him to see the Chihuly exhibit at the DeYoung Museum. He also enjoys Photography and taking his 12 year old son to the Exploratorium.

“We like Science exhibits.”

Dr. Kurtbay is a lap swimmer, tea drinker and avid reader.

He swims in the morning before he comes to his office.

“I usually get a lane to myself.”

He likes various black teas, jasmine tea and now green tea.

“Turks like to talk and to drink tea. Turkey is known for coffee, but more people drink tea.”

Dr. Kurtbay is a voracious reader and keeps up on the political and economic climate of the world.

The joys of the business?

“My patients, I like to interact and I meet a lot of interesting people.”

The challenges?

“The Insurance Companies. One company has paid the same amount for an eye exam for eleven years. But I have patients I want to keep, so I take their insurance.”

What do you like about this neighborhood?

“It’s diverse. The people are open and flexible. I feel like I fit in. Like a lot of people, I was born in another country.

I’m grateful that Dr. Kurtbay improves my vision.

NEXT WEEK: MEET CHRISTOPHER, BARTENDER FROM PARK CHOW