Samiha Ayverdi

Samiha Ayverdi
Born	November 25, 1905 Istanbul, Ottoman Empire
Died	March 22, 1993 (aged 87) Istanbul, Turkey
Resting place	Merkezefendi Cemetery, Istanbul
Occupation	Novelist
Nationality	Turkish
Relatives	Ekrem Hakkı Ayverdi (brother)

Samiha Ayverdi (25 November 1905 – 22 March 1993) was a Turkish writer and Sufi mystic. She is the sister of architect and historian Ekrem Hakkı Ayverdi.

Samiha Ayverdi was born in İstanbul to Fatma Meliha Hanim and İsmail Hakkı Bey, an Ottoman military official. She studied at Süleymaniye Kız Numune Mektebi and among other things, learned French and read about philosophy and Islamic mysticism. She became a follower and later official successor of Sufi thinker Kenan Rıfai, who became a major influence in her work.^[1] In 1938, she published her first novel titled Aşk Budur and followed it with over 30 novels and short story collections.^[2] Ayverdi died on 22 March 1993 and is buried at the Merkezefendi Cemetery in Zeytinburnu, İstanbul.

References

1. Hibri, Azizah (1982). Women and Islam. Pergamon Press. p. 145. ISBN 978-0-08-027928-2.
2. Mitler, Louis (1988). Contemporary Turkish writers: a critical bio-bibliography of leading writers in the Turkish Republican Period up to 1980. Indiana University. p. 50. ISBN 978-0-933070-14-1.

External links

• Website dedicated for Samiha Ayverdi
• A biography of Samiha Ayverdi
• Cemalnur Sargut on Samiha Ayverdi