Hüseyin Sayram

Who was Hüseyin Sayram?

Hüseyin Sayram

Turkish politician, provincial chief of the CHP. He was the second of the three sons of the Turkish theologian Hacı Zühtü Efendi. He also had a younger and an older sister. Hüseyin Sayram was the starter and patriarch of Sayram family line. Hüseyin was born into a family of a long line of Muslim theologians. He had a fierce positivist intellect and with an ear for music. He was also an accomplished athlete, a sprinter.

Hüseyin Sayram was born around 1905 in Kayseri, Turkey. A market city of merchants.

He embraced the modernization efforts introduced by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk with enthusiasm and joined the CHP. This led to a schism between him and the traditional ways of his family.

Hüseyin Sayram completed Sivas Öğretmen Okulu. He later obtained a musicology degree. He played various musical instruments including violin, kanun and oud. He had a baritone voice. He was appointed as a music teacher at the College for Imams and Preachers. Here, his introduction of violin caused a stir.

When the surname legislation was introduced, making it mandatory for every Turkish citizen to have a family name, Hüseyin chose the surname Sayram from Kutadgu Bilig an 11th Century Turkish Encyclopedia by Yusuf Has Hajib, meaning a "musicologist". Sayram also means "blessing" and it is the birthplace of Hoca Ahmed Yesevi in Turkestan.