In February 2004 an article in the newspaper '' Agos '' , headlined " The Secret of Sabiha Hatun " , contained an interview with Hripsime Sebilciyan , a former resident of Gaziantep , who claimed to be Gökçen 's niece and that Gökçen herself was of Armenian ancestry . Mustafa Kemal had also adopted Gökçen , who was in an orphanage shortly after the Armenian Genocide . According to Turkish-Armenian linguist Pars Tuğlacı , who deemed Sebilciyan 's claim false , Gökçen herself found out about her Armenian roots while in Ankara , when members of her family contacted her from Beirut . It is claimed that Gökçen visited her Armenian relatives in Beirut and had four brothers , Sarkis , Boğos , Haçik and Hovhannes
Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
Sabiha Gökçen