Safiye Ayla (14 July 1907 – 14 January 1998) was one of the most famous singers of
Turkish classical music
Ottoman music ( tr, Osmanlı müziği) or Turkish classical music ( tr, Türk sanat müziği) is the tradition of classical music originating in the Ottoman Empire. Developed in the palace, major Ottoman cities, and Sufi lodges, it traditionally ...
.
Early life
She was born on 14 July 1907 in Istanbul. Her father, Mısırlı Hicazîzade
Hafız Abdullah Bey of
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...
, died before her birth.
Her mother, who was a servant at the Imperial Court, died also as she was only three years old. She was sent to the orphanage "Çağlayan Darüleytâmı" in
Bebek, where she completed her primary education. Safiye Ayla was then educated at the teacher college in
Bursa
( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in t ...
. She served a brief time as a teacher, however did not continue in her profession.
She began her musical education as a piano student. She studied under Mustafa Sunar, and began to sing as a soloist in some of the most important casinos of her time.
Career
Safiye Ayla worked with some of the most important artists of her time, including
Yesari Asım Arsoy,
Hafız Ahmet Irsoy,
Selahattin Pınar Selahattin is the Turkish spelling of the Arabic Muslim masculine given name Salah ad-Din ( Arabic: صلاح الدّين ''ṣalāḥ ad-dīn''). Notable people with the name include:
People
* Selahattin Çolak, Turkish politician
* Selahattin ...
,
Sadettin Kaynak and
Udi Nevres Bey. She performed for
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, or Mustafa Kemal Pasha until 1921, and Ghazi Mustafa Kemal from 1921 until 1934 ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish field marshal, revolutionary statesman, author, and the founding father of the Rep ...
in 1932 and became one of his favorite singers.
In 1950, she married the artist