Zehra Bilir (March 26, 1913 in

Arapgir Arapgir ( hy, Արաբկիր; ku, Erebgir) is a town and district of Malatya Province, Turkey. As of 2000 it had a population of 17,070 people. It is situated at the confluence of the eastern and western Euphrates, but some miles from the right ...

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) ...

– June 28, 2007 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, ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

) was a renowned Turkish folk singer of

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 ...

descent. She was known as the

Edith Piaf Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English words ēad, meaning 'riches or blessed', and is in common usage in this form in English, German, many Scandinavian languages and Dutch. Its French form is Édith. Contractions and vari ...

Life

Zehra Bilir was born Eliz Surhantakyan in

. In an article published in the Armenian newspaper ''Agos'', it was suggested that Zehra Bilir's real Armenian name was Eliza Ölçüyan. Her father Harutyun, went to fight for the Ottoman Empire during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

but has never returned. Eliz had two sisters and a brother who her mother couldn't look after on her own. Therefore, her mother married a Turkish man and Eliz always believed that the Turkish man was in fact her real father. Her Turkish father gave her the name Zehra which she believed was her real name during her adolescence. But in an interview on

Sabah (newspaper) ''Sabah'' is a Turkish daily newspaper, with a circulation of around 330,000 as of 2011. Its name means "morning" in Turkish. The newspaper was founded in İzmir by Dinç Bilgin on 22 April 1985. In 2007, the government of Turkish Prime Ministe ...

she says that she changed her name when she was 22 while she married her second husband.http://arsiv.sabah.com.tr/2002/03/12/z02.html - "Müftü taktı. 22 yaşındaydım. Evlenecektim. Sibel ismiyle müracaat ettim. Ama müftü, "Kızım bu Türk ismini andırmıyor" dedi. Ben de, "Öyleyse siz bulun bir isim" dedim. "Zehra olsun" dedi. Bilir de, ilk eşimin soyadıydı. Ben o soyadla ünlendim. Sonra da değiştirmek istemedim..." This eventually became the name she is known by. After receiving her primary school education at the local elementary school, she and her family moves to Istanbul in 1927. After working alongside a hatter, she then begins to take musical notation and solfeggio lessons from famed Armenian musician Artaki Candan-Terzian. She became one of the pioneers of the ''Gazino'' (night club) style. Westerners described her as the

of Turkey. She was one of the most famous singers of folk songs from

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 ...

, often appearing in traditional garb and dancing with a handkerchief. One of the most popular entertainers, she appeared frequently on the Radio in Istanbul and Izmir. Zehra Bilir died on June 28, 2007 at the age 94 years in a nursing home. She is buried in

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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bilir, Zehra Turkish people of Armenian descent Ethnic Armenian women singers People from Arapgir 1913 births 2007 deaths Turkish folk singers Ethnic Armenian Muslims 20th-century Turkish women singers