People

The First Female Photographer of Turkey: Beautiful Portrait Photos Taken by Maryam Şahinyan

Born at Sahinyan Konagi, now known as the Camli Kösk in the city center of Sivas, Turkey. Maryam Sahinyan (1911 – 1996) was a famed photographer who is considered the first woman studio photographer in Turkey.

In 1936, Maryam was forced to dropout of the French School Sainte-Pulchérie and attended in order to help her father out in the studio. By 1937, she started managing the studio independently. Maryam Sahinyan managed the studio until 1985.

Maryam Sahinyan is considered the first woman photographer in Turkey. Her work focuses mostly on portrait, of subjects ranging from transgender people and members of disenfranchised religious and ethnic groups to wealthy women, identical twins, babies and long-haired beauties.

Here is some of her amazing work.

Source: www.vintag.es

Vigen Avetisyan

Recent Posts

“Show Us the Tombs of Your Kings”: Royal Burials of Armenia from the Kingdom of Van to the Bagratids — and a Separate Look at Haghartsin Monastery

A source-based overview. All links are clickable and lead to primary sources or scholarly and…

4 hours ago

“Aryan by Certificate”: How the Armenians of Europe Defended Themselves Against Nazi Racial Policy

After the Nazis came to power in 1933, “Aryan” origin in Germany became a question…

4 hours ago

Guarantors, Not Witnesses: Russian Peacekeepers, the Blockade of Artsakh and the 2023 Exodus

What exactly the Russian contingent undertook to do in the Lachin Corridor, what happened between…

1 day ago

If Yerevan Falls Silent: What Would and Would Not Change for the Recognition of the Armenian Genocide

In brief. Suppose the Armenian authorities deliberately take the Genocide off the agenda. The historical…

3 days ago

Why Baku Promotes “Western Azerbaijan”: Historical Propaganda, Coercion and the Risk of Escalation

By Vigen Avetisyan. Data as of October 29, 2026. In brief. As a scholarly concept,…

6 days ago

“Ancient Azerbaijan” and “Armenians from India”: Anatomy of a Propaganda Narrative

By Vigen Avetisyan In brief. The claim that present-day Armenia is “historical Azerbaijan” and that…

1 week ago