Piaf, "Yıldızların Altında" by Zeki Müren and "Lili Marleen" by Marlene Dietrich. She and her accordion became a symbol of nocturnal entertainment at Beyoğlu, and appeared in numerous photographs taken there. Private life Her first husband, Nora Dırızyan, was a musician of Armenian ethnicity, who played the accordion, piano and contrabass. He performed a long time on the cruise ships Ankara and Samsun, and later at the music hall Beyaz Park in Büyükdere, Sarıyer, northern Istanbul. She remained married to him for 17 years. They had two sons, Onnik and Berç. After divorcing, she married a Turkish musician, Solak Hüseyin, literally "Hüseyin the Left-handed". Her second marriage, which lasted for a while, ended with divorce. Her third marriage was also unsuccessful. She then remarried her first husband. She remembers that "it was very upsetting to see how the people I played the accordion and gave joy to for years were involved in the Istanbul pogrom attacking the Greek minority in Istanbul on 6–7 September 1955". Her house in Tarlabaşı was confiscated and demolished in the late 1980s. She faced hard times as she did not receive any compensation, and had to move into a flat for rent. A friend of animals, she was a paid member of the Animal Protection Association and attended many of its meetings. Death She contracted stomach cancer but eventually died of heart failure on 29 August 2003. She was interred at Şişli Armenian Cemetery following the religious funeral service held in the Surp Yerrortutyun Armenian Catholic Church. Legacy A Dutch television channel broadcast a documentary film about her life. By November 2018, a music venue named "Anahit Stage" opened in her honor in Beyoğlu. The venue hosts a wide spectrum of polyphonic and multicolored music genre ranging from traditional to experimental, from classical to electronics. References 1917 births 2003 deaths Turkish people of Armenian descent Armenians in Istanbul Musicians from Istanbul Turkish accordionists Women accordionists Turkish women musicians 20th-century accordionists 20th-century Armenian musicians 20th-century Turkish women musicians Turkish film actresses Burials at Şişli Armenian Cemetery Istanbul pogrom