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

voice actress Voice acting is the art of Acting, performing a character or providing information to an audience with one's voice. Performers are often called voice actors/actresses in addition to other names. Examples of voice work include animation, animated, ...

. She was the second Muslim stage actress in Turkey.

Early years

Şaziye Moral was born to ethnic Turkish parents in

Kardzali Kardzhali ( , ''Kărdžali''; ), sometimes spelt Kardžali or Kurdzhali, is List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, a town in the Eastern Rhodopes in Bulgaria, centre of Kardzhali Municipality and Kardzhali Province. The noted Kardzhali Reservoir is ...

, 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 were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...

(1912–1913), she moved to

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, then

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, by mingling in (with the

Rumelia Rumelia (; ; ) was a historical region in Southeastern Europe that was administered by the Ottoman Empire, roughly corresponding to the Balkans. In its wider sense, it was used to refer to all Ottoman possessions and Vassal state, vassals in E ...

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 (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

. After her return to Istanbul, she entered Istanbul City Theatres. 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 Afife Jale (1902 – 24 July 1941) was a Turkish stage actress, best known as the first Muslim theatre actress in Turkey. Career Afife was studying at the Girls Industry School in Istanbul; however, she wanted to be an actress. In the Ottoman Em ...

(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 The Zincirlikuyu Cemetery () is a modern burial ground in the European part of Istanbul, Turkey. It is administered by the Metropolitan Municipality. Many prominent figures from the world of politics, business, sports and arts rest here. The ce ...

following a memorial held at the

Harbiye Muhsin Ertuğrul Stage Harbiye Muhsin Ertuğrul Stage () 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 (''Şehir Tiyatroları'') division. Th ...

and the religious funeral service at

Şişli Mosque The Şişli Mosque () is a mosque located in Şişli Square between the Büyükdere Avenue, the Halaskargazi and Abide-i Hürriyet streets in the Şişli district of Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey. Due to lack of any mosque in Şişli, which got in ...

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