Matild Manukyan (

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

: Մաթիլդ Մանուկյան) (1914 – 17 February 2001) was a wealthy Turkish businesswoman of Armenian descent. She was a real property investor and

madam Madam (), or madame ( or ), is a polite and formal form of address for Woman, women in the English language, often contracted to ma'am (pronounced in American English and this way but also in British English). The term derives from the French ...

who made a fortune in the

brothel A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub par ...

business, whereby she became the top taxpayer in

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, ...

for five consecutive years during the 1990s.

Biography

She was born in 1914 to an

aristocratic Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At the time of the word's ...

Armenian family in Istanbul,

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) ...

. After finishing the

French language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...

-high school

Lycée Notre Dame de Sion Istanbul Lycée Notre Dame de Sion Istanbul ( tr, Notre Dame de Sion Özel Fransız Lisesi) is a French private high school located in the Harbiye, Şişli neighbourhood of Istanbul, Turkey. It was founded in 1856. The high school was established in the O ...

, she opened an

haute couture ''Haute couture'' (; ; French for 'high sewing', 'high dressmaking') is the creation of exclusive custom-fitted high-end fashion design that is constructed by hand from start-to-finish. Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, Paris became th ...

atelier An atelier () is the private workshop or studio of a professional artist in the fine or decorative arts or an architect, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students, and apprentices can work together producing fine art or v ...

for Istanbul's socialites. Soon, she lost her husband and had to live alone with her son. Manukyan leased the buildings she inherited from her father in the

red-light district A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light districts are particu ...

Karaköy Karaköy (), the modern name for the old Galata, is a commercial quarter in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, Turkey, located at the northern part of the Golden Horn mouth on the European side of Bosphorus. Karaköy is one of the oldest an ...

neighbourhood in Istanbul to brothel owners. One of the brothel owners handed over his business to her in order to settle a debt, and over the years, she expanded the number of brothels she owned to a chain of 32. She invested her opulent earnings from the

sex business The sex industry (also called the sex trade) consists of businesses that either directly or indirectly provide sex-related products and services or adult entertainment. The industry includes activities involving direct provision of sex-related ...

into

real property In English common law, real property, real estate, immovable property or, solely in the US and Canada, realty, is land which is the property of some person and all structures (also called improvements or fixtures) integrated with or affixe ...

. Manukyan was the top taxpayer in Istanbul for five consecutive years during the 1990s and received an award for that by the revenue authority. She displayed her collection of certificates and recognition items she received from the authorities in her home in

Şişli Şişli () is one of the 39 districts of Istanbul, Turkey. Located on the European side of the city, it is bordered by Beşiktaş to the east, Sarıyer to the north, Eyüp and Kağıthane to the west, and Beyoğlu to the south. In 2009, Şi ...

that she called the "M&M Museum". In an interview, she revealed that she then owned around 70 business centers and 500

apartment An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are ma ...

s in Istanbul, 200 in

Yalova Yalova is a market-gardening town located in northwestern Turkey on the eastern coast of the Sea of Marmara. The town has a population of 156,838, while the population of the surrounding Yalova Province is 291,001 . A largely modern town, it is ...

, three five-star hotels in

Antalya Antalya () is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, fifth-most populous city in Turkey as well as the capital of Antalya Province. Located on Anatolia's southwest coast bordered by the Taurus Mountains, Antalya is the largest Turkish cit ...

and

Alanya Alanya (; ), formerly Alaiye, is a beach resort city and a district of Antalya Province on the southern coast of Turkey, in the country's Mediterranean Region, east of the city of Antalya. As of Turkey's 2010 census, the city had a population of ...

, 10 villas in

Kyrenia Kyrenia ( el, Κερύνεια ; tr, Girne ) is a city on the northern coast of Cyprus, noted for its historic harbour and castle. It is under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. While there is evidence showing that the wider region ...

Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus ( tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs), officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC; tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti, ''KKTC''), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, isl ...

and a factory in Istanbul in the export business. She also noted that she was building a hotel in Germany with 100 beds. She also ran a fleet of around 220 taxis. Luxury items owned by Manukyan included a

Rolls-Royce car This is a list of Rolls-Royce branded motor cars and includes vehicles manufactured by: * Rolls-Royce Limited (1906–1973) *Rolls-Royce Motors (1973–2003), which was created as a result of the demerger of Rolls-Royce Limited in 1973. Vickers ...

, four top model Mercedes and BMW cars, and an 18 m

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

in the Kalamış Marina in Istanbul. Manukyan died on 17 February 2001, in Istanbul, at age 84, and was buried in the Armenian Cemetery of Şişli following the funeral at the Üç Horon Armenian Church in Beyoğlu. Her only heir is her son Kerope Çilingir, who grew up in the United States.

Trivia

* On 28 September 1995, Matild Manukyan was seriously injured on her left leg in a firearm attack, which originally targeted her security guard and driver. * Manukyan (played by

Ahu Tuğba Ahu Tuğba (born Tuğba Çetin; August 13, 1955) is a Turkish actress. Born into a wealthy family of Istanbul, she graduated from Istanbul's American High School for Girls, high school section for girls of Robert College, and attended, but no ...

) was featured in a 2006 TV

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

named ''Meçhule Gidenler'' (literally ''Those Who Go to Uncertainty'') directed by Bülent Pelit. The series has not been broadcast yet.

References

External links

Biography Net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manukyan, Matild 1914 births 2001 deaths Turkish brothel owners and madams Turkish people of Armenian descent Ethnic Armenian businesspeople Turkish women in business Turkish businesspeople Turkish sex workers Date of birth missing Businesspeople from Istanbul Armenian women in business Lycée Notre Dame de Sion Istanbul alumni Armenians in Istanbul Burials at Şişli Armenian Cemetery Armenian businesspeople