Sâmiha Ayverdi

Who was Sâmiha Ayverdi?

Samiha Ayverdi was a Turkish writer and Sufi mystic. She is the sister of architect and historian Ekrem Hakkı Ayverdi.

Samiha Ayverdi was born in İstanbul to Fatma Meliha Hanim and İsmail Hakkı Bey, an Ottoman military official. She studied at Süleymaniye Kız Numune Mektebi and among other things, learned French and read about philosophy and Islamic mysticism. She became a follower and later official successor of Sufi thinker Kenan Rıfai, who became a major influence in her work. In 1938, she published her first novel titled Aşk Budur and followed it with over 30 novels and short story collections. Ayverdi died in 22 March 1993 and is buried at the Merkezefendi Cemetery in Zeytinburnu, İstanbul.