Şaziye Moral (1903 – 9 April 1985) was a Turkish female stage and film actress and

voice actress Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

. She was the second Muslim stage actress in Turkey.

Early years

Şaziye Moral was born to ethnic Turkish parents in Kardzali, Bulgaria in 1903. Her mother died during her birth, and her father died after a couple of years. After the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defe ...

(1912–1913), she moved to

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

, then

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, by mingling in (with the

Rumelia Rumelia ( ota, روم ايلى, Rum İli; tr, Rumeli; el, Ρωμυλία), etymologically "Land of the Names of the Greeks#Romans (Ῥωμαῖοι), Romans", at the time meaning Eastern Orthodox Christians and more specifically Christians f ...

n immigrants. She was raised by her relatives. She completed the primary and middle school in Kocamustafapaşa, Istanbul. She dropped out the high school in the last grade, and started to earn money in order not to be a burden to her relatives.

Acting career

She entered as a clerk in an agency dealing with general services in Beyazıt, Istanbul, which ran its own theatre "Yeni Hayat Tiyatrosu" (literally "New Life Theatre"). The theatre folded and after some time the actors left. For its re-establishment, she was offered to go on stage. She accepted the offer at a time when Muslim women actors were uncommon. Her acting career began in 1919 with her first performance in Cemal Yakup's play ''Kıtık Kalp'' ("Broken Hearth"). She was taken to the police station by a group of people, and sued for appearing on stage as a Muslim woman. She was acquitted in the court. She then went on a tour in

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

. After her return to Istanbul, she entered

Istanbul City Theatres Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality City Theatre ( Turkish: ''Istanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi Şehir Tiyatroları''; Ottoman Turkish: Darülbedayi) The theater was founded in 1934 in the Ottoman Empire period (1914) as Dârülbedayi. It was a ...

. In 1921, the City Theatres announced that Muslim women were officially not allowed to perform acting on stage. She became the second Muslim stage actress after Afife Jale (1902–1941). After performing in more than two hundred plays on stage and acting in more than eighty movies, she retired in 1977.

Death

Şaziye Moral died in Istanbul at the age of 82 on 9 April 1985. She was interred at

Zincirlikuyu Cemetery __NOTOC__ The Zincirlikuyu Cemetery ( tr, Zincirlikuyu Mezarlığı) is a modern burial ground residing on the European part of Istanbul, Turkey. It is administered by the Metropolitan Municipality. Many prominent figures from the world of polit ...

following a memorial held at the

Harbiye Muhsin Ertuğrul Stage Harbiye Muhsin Ertuğrul Stage ( tr, Harbiye Muhsin Ertuğrul Sahnesi) is a theatre venue in the Harbiye neighborhood of Şişli district in Istanbul, Turkey. It is owned by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and operated by its City Theatres (' ...

and the religious funeral service at Şişli Mosque.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moral, Saziye 1903 births People from Kardzhali Bulgarian people of Turkish descent Bulgarian emigrants to Turkey Bulgarian Turks in Turkey Turkish stage actresses Turkish film actresses Turkish voice actresses 1985 deaths Burials at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery