Madam Anahit

Madam Anahit — Biography

Madam Anahit, born Anahit Yulanda Varan (Anahit Kuyrig), was a Turkish Armenian accordionist and one of the emblems of Beyoğlu's nightlife. With her bright red lipstick and her Hohner accordion she walked Çiçek Pasajı and Nevizade Sokak, and for about forty years she was counted among the arcade's indispensable figures. Also known as the "Accordion Lady", she appeared often in photographs and documentaries about Beyoğlu.

The daughter of a wealthy Armenian family, she grew up in Tarlabaşı and began making music in the school choir at Esayan Armenian High School. During summers on Heybeliada she admired a Greek neighbor boy's accordion and persuaded her mother to buy her a second-hand Hohner; she took lessons from Arto Benon and later Nora Dırızyan. Her repertoire held old Istanbul tangos, Greek butcher tunes and Armenian tavern songs, with La Vie en rose, Yıldızların Altında and Lili Marleen among her most played. She also appeared as an extra or in small parts in films such as Babanın Suçu, Adalet, Cennet Çocukları and Kadın ve Şarap, and in music videos by Aşkın Nur Yengi and Grup Gündoğarken. Her house in Tarlabaşı was demolished in the late 1980s.

She died in Istanbul on 29 August 2003 and was buried in Şişli Armenian Cemetery. Dutch television broadcast a documentary on her life, Cezmi Ersöz included her in his book Son Yüzler, and in 2018 a venue named Anahit Stage opened in Beyoğlu in her honor.