Who is Ipek from Snow and what is their importance?

Ipek is the beautiful woman with whom Ka is in love. Ipek had grown up in Istanbul, and Ka had known her in college, but she had married Muhtar Bey. She is the daughter of the owner of the Snow Palace Hotel, Turgut Bey. Her marriage to Muhtar was unhappy, and she had a passionate affair with the Islamist named Blue that lasted four years. She is a liberated woman, who did not wear a traditional head scarf.