Halet Çambel
| Halet Çambel | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
27 August 1916 Berlin, German Empire |
| Died | 12 January 2014 (aged 97) Istanbul, Turkey |
| Resting place | Akyaka, Muğla, Turkey |
| Nationality | Turkish |
| Education | Archaeology |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Archaeologist |
| Spouse(s) | Nail Çakırhan |
| Awards | Prince Claus Award |
Halet Çambel (27 August 1916 – 12 January 2014) was a Turkish archaeologist and Olympic fencer. She was the first Muslim woman to compete in the Olympic Games.
Çambel was born in Berlin, German Empire on August 27, 1916, to Turkish military attaché Hasan Cemil Bey (Çambel), a close associate of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the Turkish Republic, and Remziye Hanım, the daughter of Ibrahim Hakki Pasha, a former Grand Vizier (prime minister of the Ottoman sultan) and the Ottoman ambassador to German Empire at the time.
She completed her secondary education at Arnavutköy American High School for Girls (today Robert College). During the high school years, she was inspired by her history of art teacher, who organized visits to historic sites of Istanbul. It was at this time that she began to perform fencing. Between 1933-1939, she was educated in archaeology at Sorbonne University in Paris, France. Çambel became a scientific assistant at Istanbul University in 1940. In 1944, she received a doctorate.From 1947 on, Çambel served as lecturer. She was a visiting scholar for two years at University of Saarbrücken in Germany. In 1960, she was appointed professor, and founded the Institute of Prehistory. She became emeritus in 1984.
On returning to Istanbul after the 1936 Summer Olympics, where she represented her country, she started a relation with Nail Çakırhan, a communist poet and journalist, who became a celebrated architect. They were married for seventy years until the death of Nail Çakırhan in October 2008.
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