Leyla Saz

Leyla Saz, also called Leyla Hanimefendi or Leyla Saz Hanimefendi in her time (the title "Hanımefendi" denoting a meaning similar to that of the British nobility term "Lady"; she adopted the surname "Saz" in the frame of the 1934 Law on Family Names in Turkey) is a Turkish composer, poet and writer. Apart from being a notable composer in the tradition of Turkish classical music, she is also, through her memoirs written towards the end of her life, one of the primary first-hand sources available to historians on the Ottoman harem, in the late-19th century context of that institution.

Born in 1850 in İstanbul to a family of Ottoman aristocrats of Cretan Turkish origins, she was the daughter of İsmail Hakkı Pasha (often called Hekim İsmail Pasha -"İsmail Pasha the Doctor"- in Turkish sources). She spent her childhood in the Dolmabahçe Palace where she took private lessons in French, and later, when her father was the Ottoman governor of Crete, of ancient Greek and theology. She married Giritli Sırrı Pasha, another Cretan Turk and a poet of his own right, who served as governor of various Ottoman provinces and in other high-rank administrative duties. In line with her husband's appointments, she travelled a lot in Anatolia and the Balkans. She settled in İstanbul after the death of her husband in 1895 and kept in close relations with the Ottoman Palace.

As of 1895, she dedicated herself to poetry and music, in both the Turkish and European schools. She took piano lessons and hosted men of art and science of her time in her mansion .

She composed more than fifty songs the texts of which were written by her contemporary romantic poets. Her songs are strong in technique, emotional and closely faithful to the traditions of Turkish Classical Music.

Leyla Hanım also proved to be an expert in prose and published her memoirs which explained in plain details the inner life and stories of the Ottoman palace, which have been translated, among other languages, into English.