Gevherriz Kalfa


Gevherriz Kalfa was a lady-in-waiting to Sultan Murad V of the Ottoman Empire.

Life

Gevherriz kalfa was born in about 1862, or 1863 in Sochi, Abkhazia. She was the daughter of Halil Bey, an Ubykh.
Gevherriz held the title of gözde to Murad starting before Murad became sultan. She was a resident of Çırağan Palace and spoke excellent French. She also taught French to young şehzades and sultans and held the title of Kalfa.
In her memoir, fellow member of the royal household, Filizten Kalfa, reports that Gevherriz worked with Nakşifend Kalfa, the hazinedar Dilberengiz, the eunuch Hüseyin Ağa, and Hüsnü Bey to allow for a British doctor to meet with Murad to ascertain Murad's mental fitness. When the doctor arrived, Gevherriz served as translator. It is not clear how true this story is, and it is possible the doctor was sent by freemasons rather than by the British. She worked with Nevdürr Kalfa.
After the death of Murad V in 1904, Gevherriz married Hüsnü Bey, Berberbaşı to Sultan Abdul Hamid II. She died in around 1940 in Istanbul.