Poet-singer Şahsenem Bacı dies at 79

Şahsenem Bacı, first female poet-singer in Turkey, passed away at the age of 79.

News Center - Şahsenem Bacı died yesterday morning of heart failure due to shortness of breath at the age of 79. She received treatment of Alzheimer’s disease in Istanbul for a long time.

After the funeral ceremony to be held tomorrow at 16.00 at the Karacaahmet Sultan Lodge in Istanbul, she will be buried next to her daughter Efsun Bingöl in Ayvalık.

Şahsenem Bacı was born in the Boyalı village of Kars’ Sarıkamış district in 1943. She learned how to play baglama when she was a child. She was the first female poet-singer in Turkey. She wrote poems about love of homeland, love, longing for homeland and social issues. She lived in Kars, Konya, Ankara and İzmir.

In 1974, she began to perform in wedding ceremonies in Konya province. She composed about a thousand poems and 150 folk songs.

She released five albums and her poetry book titled, “Söz Nereye” was published in 1990.