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In 1845, on 1st of Mai Efrosini Samartzidou published Kypseli (Comb), the first magazine for Greek women to emerge during the Ottoman Empire. At the same time, Kypseli was the first women's magazine to be published during the Ottoman Empire.

Thirty-four issues of Kypseli, a monthly, were published. At the time, there were no schools for girls of Greek origin in the Ottoman Empire. In the magazine, space was given to articles designed to educate women so that they would be able to be good wives and mothers. Four years after Kypseli first appeared, a primary school was opened for the first time for impoverished Greek girls.

(Sula Bosis, İstanbullu Rumlar, Istanbul 2011, p.163)

Efrosini Samartzidou as poet
(Publications)

• Mother:No information available
• Father:No information available
• Marriage:Spiridon Samartzidis (doctor)
• Friends: George Zalokostas (poet), Giorgos Parasxos (poet), Marco Antonio Canini (Poet)

Sula Bosis, İstanbullu Rumlar, İstanbul 2011, s.163

Sirmoula Alexandridou, ""Early women's press: a challenge for 19th century East and Greece", Women telling Nations, NEWW international conference, University Complutense (Madrid-Spain),11-13/11/2010.

Katerina Dalakoura, " "Female Social Activities: Norms and Exceptions in Greek Women's Press", Workshop Belgrade, COST Action WWIH, 14-16/4/ 2011.

Katerina Dalakoura, " "Challenging Education in the Ottoman Greek Female Journals (1845-1907): a Declining Feminist Discourse", knjizenstvo.rs/magazine.

Quoted Sources:

• See the "Further Reading" section

Source for Visual Images

• Kadın Eserleri Kütüphanesi ve Bilgi Merkezi, İstanbul

The Women's Museum Istanbul would like to thank Ms. Ira Tzourou (Athens) and Ms. Sirmoula Alexandridou (Democritus University of Thrace) for her support in compiling this introductory page.