Pioneers of Change: How Halide Edib Adıvar, Selma Ekrem,
and İsmet Şanlı Redefined Türkİye’s Image in America

By rejecting stereotypes and sharing their stories, they helped Americans see
a Türkiye built on equality, progress, and reform.

By G. Lincoln McCurdy and Mert Deniz
The leadership of the Turkish Republic, established in 1923, understood from the beginning the necessity of cultivating strong relations with the United States to ensure Türkiye’s long-term security and its success in modernization and social reform. They also recognized that the new republic faced a significant image problem in American society, rooted in the late Ottoman era. The republic’s first two ambassadors to the United States, Ahmet Muhtar Mollaoğlu and Mehmet Münir Ertegün, were instrumental in presenting a reform-minded and Western-oriented image to the American political establishment.
On the American side, key figures such as Admiral Mark Lambert Bristol, the US High Commissioner in İstanbul after World War I; Joseph Clark Grew, the first US Ambassador to Türkiye; and Rev. Asa Kent Jennings, the founder of the first American Friends of Turkey, played essential roles in introducing the merits of the Turkish Republic to the American public.
However, promoting the new Turkish Republic was not limited to these distinguished men. Three independent and courageous Turkish women—Halide Edip Adıvar, Selma Ekrem, and İsmet Şanlı—played a pivotal role in shaping American public opinion toward the Turkish people and nation through their lectures and writings.
Rebelling against traditional roles for women, they were pioneers in advocating for women’s rights in Türkiye, the United States, and globally. Each of them traveled to the US independently as young, highly educated, and determined individuals, driven by a belief in the moral principles represented by the new republic. Acting on their own initiatives, they became unofficial ambassadors for the Republic of Türkiye. They spoke to audiences at universities and social clubs across the United States about the new status of Turkish women, the social reforms undertaken by the new republic, and the importance of fostering bilateral relations between the two countries.
Selma Ekrem and İsmet Şanlı chose to remain in the United States, while Halide Edib Adivar returned to Europe before returning to Türkiye in 1939,
To fully appreciate their efforts, it is vital to understand the realities of their time. This summary of the lives of these remarkable women is derived from A Chronicle of Turkish American Relations, 1923-2023 by G. Lincoln McCurdy, available on the website of the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA), and Mert Deniz’s PhD dissertation, The (Re)Construction of the Image of ‘The Turk’ in America, 1863-1963, from Hacettepe University Graduate School of Social Sciences, Department of American Culture and Literature, 2024.

HALİDE EDİB ADIVAR
Halide Edib Adıvar (1884–1964) was born to an established family in İstanbul. After losing her mother at a very young age, her father, Edib Bey, enrolled her in the American College for Girls. She graduated in 1901, becoming the school’s second Muslim graduate.1
Edib’s early career unfolded against a backdrop of political turbulence. During these years, she wrote for newspapers and magazines aligned with the modernist movements of the reforming Ottoman Empire. By the time the Republic of Türkiye was founded in 1923, Edib had become a prominent writer and a leading political figure—a symbol of the new principles shaping the young republic. She envisioned a country where modern values like egalitarianism, secularism, and progressivism could thrive, with women playing an active role as equal citizens. Reflecting on this vision, she articulated her hopes in an interview with American journalist Isaac F. Marcosson:
I hope that the bulk of American womanhood will not think that the Turkish woman is emerging from the veil and seclusion amid a cloud of cigarette smoke and nothing more. Our women have a serious realization both of the opportunity and the responsibility that are theirs, and they will render a good account of themselves.2

Nevertheless, Edib’s aspirations gradually diverged from the direction of the political authority following 1923. As a result, she and her spouse, Dr Adnan Adıvar, chose to leave Türkiye. After residing in London and Paris, Edib crossed the Atlantic alone, while Dr Adıvar remained in Europe. From 1928 to 1929, she was a guest professor at Columbia University. In 1928, she became the first woman to speak at the prestigious Institute of Politics at Williams College, Massachusetts, addressing an audience of approximately 200 foreign affairs experts.
Writing about the Institute of Politics conference, Russell B. Porter of The New York Times introduced Edib as a “pioneer exponent of feminism and nationalism in the Near East,”3 noting that she “has proved herself to be one of the most popular lecturers and conference leaders in the history of the Institute.” Edib’s influence extended beyond advocating for Turkish modernization in America; she came to embody the very spirit of these reforms as an educated and independent woman leader. Her presence challenged the prevailing Western stereotypes of Ottoman women, often portrayed as veiled and secluded within the harem. This striking contrast highlighted the progress of Turkish modernization, reflecting the republic’s efforts to redefine its image on the international stage.
Edib compiled her lectures in the US in a book titled Turkey Faces West in 1930. This book was the third of her works published in English, following Memoirs of Halide Edib (1923) and The Turkish Ordeal (1928). Memoirs of Halide Edib focuses on her formative years, beginning with her childhood, offering insights into the final decades of the Ottoman Empire by intertwining her personal narrative with the history of İstanbul and the empire. The Turkish Ordeal, on the other hand, draws from Edib’s experiences as a journalist, activist, and soldier during the Turkish War of Independence (1919–1923). The Turkish Ordeal and Turkey Faces West reflect Edib’s broader efforts to present the Republic of Türkiye and modern Turks to America. Paralleling her memoir, while Edib recounts her own story—enduring life in an era of political strife and war—she simultaneously narrates the history of a nation undergoing its trial by ordeal in the pursuit of independence and modernization.
Edib represents the first generation of Turkish women who traveled to the United States. She took the initiative to foster mutual understanding and cooperation between the American audience and Turkish compatriots. In this capacity, she served as a civilian ambassador of goodwill, contributing to the foundation of a relationship between Türkiye and the United States.

SELMA EKREM
Selma Ekrem (1902-1986) shared many similarities with Halide Edib Adıvar. Born in İstanbul to Ali Ekrem Bey and Zeynep Celile Hanım, she belonged to one of the most distinguished families of the Ottoman Empire. Her father, Ali Ekrem Bey, was the son of Namık Kemal, a prominent author, journalist, bureaucrat, and, most notably, a leading figure among the Young Ottomans. Following in his father’s footsteps, Ali Ekrem Bey served at the sultan’s court and later served as the governor of Jerusalem before the outbreak of the First World War. After the war, he joined the faculty of İstanbul University. He wrote for Servet-i Fünun, a periodical promoting modern science and the arts in the Ottoman Empire and the newly founded Republic of Türkiye.4
Ekrem’s mother, Celile Hanım, was the daughter of Kavalalı Ahmed Celal Pasha. The privileges of her family afforded Celile Hanım an exceptional education; she spoke multiple languages, played the piano, and assisted her husband, Ali Ekrem Bey, in administrative matters.5 However, as was customary among Ottoman aristocrats of her time, Celile Hanım received her education from private tutors at home. Ottoman laws of the era limited her ability to apply her knowledge independently in public life. Determined to offer her daughter a different path, Celile Hanım enrolled Selma in the American College for Girls at a young age, reminiscent of Edib Bey’s decision for young Halide.
In 1924, Ekrem moved to the United States at the age of twenty-two.6 Shocked, upon her arrival, to learn about the “Terrible Turk” image, she countered disinformation about Türkiye in her speeches to American audiences. She published her first book, Unveiled, in 1930, followed by Turkey Old and New (1947) and Turkish Fairy Tales (1964). Beyond her books, she contributed to The Christian Science Monitor, writing stories over the course of three decades from 1942 until 1973, with her total number of published pieces reaching 280. Ekrem worked with Türkiye’s diplomatic mission in New York and the Turkish Information Office, a diplomatic initiative to provide correct and high-quality information about Türkiye to the American public.7 She was also a member of the editorial board of the Turkish Commission for the New York World’s Fair in 1939.8
In Unveiled, her autobiographical account covering her life from youth through her early years in America, Ekrem recounts how people she encountered upon her arrival could scarcely believe she was a Turkish woman, due to her modern appearance in clothing and manners.9 Consequently, Ekrem wrote to educate American society about modern Türkiye. Her memoir, Unveiled, and her stories in The Christian Science Monitor also portray Turkish culture and customs in the final decades of the Ottoman Empire. Most importantly, Ekrem’s life mirrors that of her American readers, demonstrating that Turks and Americans share more similarities than differences. For example, the interactions within her family and broader society are governed by mutual respect and affection. Consequently, these stories claim that in both spheres, the values of liberty, equality, and coexistence began to permeate Ottoman society as the twentieth century approached.
Selma Ekrem shared many parallels with Halide Edib. Like Edib, Ekrem conveyed that Turks and Americans had much in common as individuals. By shifting the focus from the public to the domestic sphere, Ekrem highlighted these universal aspects of human experience, transcending borders and emphasizing shared humanity.

İSMET ŞANLI
İsmet Şanlı was born in İzmir in 1911. Her father, Mehmet Sırrı Bey, was the publisher of Halkın Sesi, a well-known İzmir-based newspaper. After graduating from the American Girls’ College, she traveled to the United States in 1931 to pursue higher education in politics and journalism.10 While working as a reporter for a major Turkish daily, Ulus, she also contributed to American newspapers after 1934.11 The following year, she began lecturing to educate Americans about modern Türkiye. As part of these public relations efforts, she spoke with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The president was impressed by Ekrem’s demeanor and her command of English. İsmet Şanlı was probably the first Turkish journalist to interview an American president. Eleanor Roosevelt later recorded her impressions of this young Turkish woman in her diary, stating:

. . . a young Turkish woman, Miss Ismet Sanli, who is doing newspaper work in this country and who desires to deliver a series of lectures. So far, she has been urged by a few women’s clubs to appear in Turkish costume, but refuses, because, as she says, she wants to interpret the new Turkey of today to American women. She has no interest in the Turkey of harem days or the ladies of the early 19th Century in the United States. Miss Sanli was dressed in the latest modern style and gave the impression of a very efficient young business woman.
I feel as though the changes in Turkey had come very rapidly, but she insists this change has been coming for a long time. There have always been highly educated women in Turkey, but never before have they been able to use their education and training outside the home. Now, instead of refusing to give women jobs, the men are anxious to put trained women in responsible positions.12
As indicated in the First Lady’s diary, Şanlı embodied the ideals of modernization and the Turkish Republic, much like Edib and Ekrem. Her appearance and manners were akin to those of her American counterparts, symbolizing a country that had fundamentally distanced itself from its past. The new Turkish women now had a chance to “use their education and training outside the home.”
Thus, Şanlı fulfilled what the Roosevelts had observed in her. She embarked on lecture tours across the United States to promote modern Türkiye to Americans. She was selected as the sole female delegate to the Turkish Commission to the United Nations Conference on International Organization, commonly known as the San Francisco Conference, in 1945.13 During these lectures, she shared the stage even with notable personalities, including Archduke Otto, heir to the throne of Austria, in 1951. Through her lectures and journalism, she played a pivotal role in advancing Türkiye’s commitment to NATO, solidifying the alliance between Türkiye and the United States, and establishing herself as a strong advocate of liberalism and democracy during the Cold War Era. ■

G. Lincoln McCurdy is the former president of the Turkish Coalition of America (TCA). Mert Deniz received his PhD from Hacettepe University, and he is affiliated as a faculty with TED University in Ankara.

Footnotes:

  1. Carolyn McCue Goffman, Mary Mills Patrick’s Cosmopolitan Mission and the Constantinople Woman’s College (Lanham: Lexington Books, 2020), 22.
  2. Isaac F. Marcosson, “Turkey in Transition,” The Saturday Evening Post (Indianapolis, IN), Nov. 10, 1923.
  3. Russell B. Porter, “New Turkey Lauded at Williams Town,” New York Times (New York, NY), Aug. 4, 1928.
  4. Alim Gür, “Ali Ekrem Bolayır Biyografisine Katkılar,” Selçuk Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, no. 11 (2004): 366.
  5. Selma Ekrem, “Summer Home in Turkey,” The Christian Science Monitor (Boston, MA), Jun. 10, 1960.
  6. Hanna Wallinger, “Cultural Ambassador from Turkey: Selma Ekrem’s Life Journey,” American Studies 61, no. 2 (2016): 121.
  7. Rabia Tevfik Basokcu, “From Başokçu to Mendere,” Taha Toros Arşivi, July 8, 1952; “CSM Editor’s Note for Ekrem’s Story,” The Christian Science (Boston, MA), Oct. 5, 1954.
  8. Ahmet Emin Yalman, Havalarda 50.000 Kilometre Seyahat Notları (İstanbul: Vatan Matbaası, 1943), 2: 43–47.
  9. Selma Ekrem, Unveiled: Autobiography of a Turkish Girl (New York: Ives Washburn, 1934), 301.
  10. Giovanni Scognamillo, Türk Sinema Tarihi (İstanbul: Metis, 1987), 48.
  11. “Young Turkish Woman to Visit,” Monroe Morning World (Monroe, LA), Dec. 7, 1947.
  12. Eleanor Roosevelt, “My Day, May 21, 1938,” The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Digital Edition.
  13. “Club to Hear Turkish Woman Monday,” Hattiesburg American (Hattiesburg, MS), Dec. 11, 1947.