Zincirlikuyu Cemetery

The Zincirlikuyu Cemetery (Turkish: Zincirlikuyu Mezarlığı) is a modern burial ground residing on the European part of Istanbul, Turkey. It is administered by the Metropolitan Municipality. Many prominent figures from the world of politics, business, sports and arts rest here.

Zincirlikuyu Cemetery

Main gate of the cemetery at Büyükdere Avenue in Zincirlikuyu.
Shown within Istanbul
Details
Established	1935
Location	Şişli, Istanbul
Country	Turkey
Coordinates	41°4′30″N 29°0′30″E / 41.07500°N 29.00833°E / 41.07500; 29.00833Coordinates: 41°4′30″N 29°0′30″E / 41.07500°N 29.00833°E / 41.07500; 29.00833
Type	Public
Owned by	Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality
Size	0.381 km^2 (94 acres)
Website	İBB Mezarlıklar Md. website

Zincirlikuyu Mosque in the Zincirliyikuyu Cemetery.

The cemetery is located on the Büyükdere Avenue in Zincirlikuyu, Şişli district between Esentepe and Levent neighborhoods. It is Istanbul's first cemetery established in a contemporary structure. Planned in 1935, the burial place reached in the 1950s to its boundaries of today. It has an area of 0.381 km² (94 acres), which is full, excluding family graves.

A mosque within the cemetery, built and donated by the Turkish entrepreneur İbrahim Bodur, was opened to service on 2 April 2004. The mosque is specially constructed for burial prayers, and has a capacity of 500 people.^[1]

The office of the İstanbul Cemeteries Administration is located in the building at the entrance of the cemetery.

Over the gate of the cemetery a verse from the Qur'an reminds "Her canlı ölümü tadacaktır" (Every living thing will taste death).^[2]

Notable burials

 

Graves at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery

Listed in alphabetical order of family names:

A

• Makbule Abasıyanık (1883–1963), writer and philanthropist
• Sait Faik Abasıyanık (1906–1954), short story writer
• Behiye Aksoy (1933–2015), singer
• Yıldırım Aktuna (1930–2007), psychiatrist and politician
• Zeki Alasya (1943–2015), actor and film director
• Sadri Alışık (1925–1995), film actor
• Cahit Aral (1927–2011), engineer and former government minister
• Oğuz Aral (1936–2004), political cartoonist
• Mübeccel Argun (1909-1982), sportswoman, teacher of physical education and radio presenter
• Duygu Asena (1946–2006), columnist, best seller author and activist for women's rights
• Falih Rıfkı Atay (1894–1971), journalist, writer and politician

B

• Turhan Baytop (1920–2002), botanist
• Refet Bele (1881–1963), general
• Ekrem Bora (1934–2012), film actor
• Behice Boran (1910–1987), Marxist sociologist, politician and author
• Orhan Boran (1928–2012), comedian, radio and TV host
• Rıza Tevfik Bölükbaşı (1869–1949), philosopher, poet and politician
• Erol Büyükburç (1936–2015), pop music singer, composer and actor
• Erol Bulut (1955–2021), romantic surrealist painter, professor of fine arts

C–Ç

• İhsan Sabri Çağlayangil (1908–1993), politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the Senate
• Faruk Nafiz Çamlıbel (1898–1973), poet and politician

D

• Belgin Doruk (1936–1995), film actress
• Gürdal Duyar (1935-2004), sculptor

E

• Nejat Eczacıbaşı (1913–1993), chemist and businessman
• Şakir Eczacıbaşı (1929–2010), pharmacist, photographer and businessman
• Çetin Emeç (1935–1990), journalist
• Refik Erduran (1928–2017), playwright, columnist and writer,^[3]
• Nihat Erim (1912–1980), jurist, politician and Prime minister
• Muhsin Ertuğrul (1892–1979), actor and director
• Suphi Ezgi (1869–1962), military physician and musicologist, componist

F

• Fahire Fersan (1900–1997), classical kemençe virtuosa
• Defne Joy Foster (1975–2011), Afro-American actress, presenter, VJ

G

• Ayşen Gruda (1944–2019), actress,^[4]
• Cemal Nadir Güler (1902–1947), cartoonist,^[5]
• Aysel Gürel (1929–2008), actress and lyricist^[6]
• Melahat Gürsel (1900–1975), 4th First Lady (1960–1966),^[7]
• Müslüm Gürses (1953–2013), singer and actor

H

• Fikret Hakan (1934– 2017), actor
• Vahit Melih Halefoğlu (1919–2017), politician and diplomat,^[8]

I–İ

• Rıfat Ilgaz (1911–1993), poet and story writer,^[9]
• Ayhan Işık (1929–1979), film actor
• Erdal İnönü (1926–2007), scientist and statesman
• Abdi İpekçi (1929–1979), journalist and intellectual
• İsmail Cem İpekçi (1940–2007), politician, journalist and statesman
• Benal Nevzat İstar Arıman (1903–1990), poet, writer and politician being as one of the first 18 female members of the Turkish parliament
• Fatma Hikmet İşmen (1918–2006), agricultural engineer, socialist politician, former senator^[10]

J

• Remzi Aydın Jöntürk (1936–1987), film director, film producer, screenwriter, painter and poet

K

• Feridun Karakaya (1928–2004), comedy actor
• Refik Halit Karay (1888–1965), writer and journalist,^[11]
• Ömer Kavur (1944–2005), film director, film producer and screenwriter
• Orhan Kemal (1914–1970), novelist
• Neriman Köksal (1928–1999), actress
• Yaşar Kemal (1923–2015), novelist
• Ali Kılıç^[12] (1889–1971), officer of the Ottoman Army, politician and army officer of the Republic of Turkey
• Dündar Kılıç (1935–1999), mob boss
• Suna Kıraç (1941–2020), member of Koç family, businesswoman and museum founder,^[13]
• Lütfi Kırdar (1887–1961), Governor and Mayor of Istanbul, Minister of Health and Social Security
• Vehbi Koç (1901–1996), entrepreneur and once Turkey's wealthiest person
• Mustafa Koç (1960–2016), businessman and chairman of Turkey's largest congloromerate Koç Holding

M

• Şaziye Moral (1903–1985), stage, film and voice actress

N

• Behçet Necatigil (1916–1979), poet
• Muhterem Nur (1932–2020), film actress and pop music singer

O–Ö

• Meral Okay (1959–2012), actress and screenwriter
• Yaman Okay (1951–1993), actor
• Ali Fethi Okyar (1880–1943), diplomat, politician, Prime Minister and Speaker of the Parliament
• Vedat Okyar (1945–2009), footballer and sports journalist
• Gündüz Tekin Onay (1942–2008), footballer and coach of Beşiktaş J.K.
• Zeki Ökten (1941–2009), film director
• Coşkun Özarı (1931–2011), footballer and national team coach
• Attila Özdemiroğlu (1943–2016), composer and arranger.

R

• Türkan Rado (1915–2007), first ever Turkish female professor of jurisprudence
• Halit Refiğ (1934–2009), film director, film producer and screenwriter

S–Ş

• Mehmet Sabancı (1963–2004), businessman
• Sakıp Sabancı (1933–2004), entrepreneur and Turkey's second richest man
• Hasan Saka (1885–1960), politician and Prime minister
• Şükrü Saracoğlu (1887–1953) Prime minister and president of Fenerbahçe S.K.
• Türkan Saylan (1935–2009), Prof. Doctor, educator
• Timur Selçuk (1946–2020), singer, pianist, conductor and composer,^[14]
• Müzeyyen Senar (1918–2015), Turkish classical music singer
• Ömer Seyfettin (1884–1920), novelist
• Aydan Siyavuş (1947–1998), basketball coach
• Meriç Soylu (1973–2012), director
• Mümtaz Soysal (1929–2019), professor of constitutional law, political scientist, politician, human rights activist, senior advisor, columnist and author,^[15]
• Sevgi Soysal (1936–1976), female novelist
• Ruhi Su (1912–1985), folk music singer
• Kemal Sunal (1944–2000), film actor and comedian
• Atıfet Sunay (1903–2002), fifth First Lady of Turkey,^[16]
• Zati Sungur (1898–1984), stage magician
• Ferhan Şensoy (1951–2021), actor, playwright, theatre director and writer,^[17]
• Turgay Şeren (1932–2016), goalkeeper and football manager^[18]

T

• Naim Talu (1919–1998), economist, banker, politician and Prime minister
• Ali Tanrıyar (1914–2017), physician, politician, government minister and sports club president
• Safiye Ayla Targan (1907–1998), female singer
• Abdülhak Hâmid Tarhan (1852–1937), poet and playwright
• Necdet Tosun (1926–1975), actor
• Erdal Tosun (1963–2016), actor
• Gürdal Tosun (1967–2000), actor
• Ahmet Kutsi Tecer (1901–1967), educator, poet and politician
• Talat Tunçalp (1915–2017), Olympian road cyclist,^[19]
• Yusuf Tunaoğlu (1946–2000), footballer^[20]
• Reha Oğuz Türkkan (1920–2010), writer

U–Ü

• Selçuk Uluergüven (1941–2014), theatre, film and television series actor
• Nejat Uygur (1927–2013), actor, comedian

Y

• Hakkı Yeten (1910–1989), footballer and coach of Beşiktaş J.K.
• Yankı Özkan Yıldırır (1972-2014), business woman

Footnotes

1. İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality 16 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine (in Turkish)
2. Newspaper Radikal August 10, 2003 (in Turkish)
3. Ege, Yunus (9 January 2017). "Gazeteci yazar Refik Erduran son yolculuğuna uğurlandı" (in Turkish). Anadolu Agency. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
4. "Ayşen Gruda son yolculuğuna uğurlandı". Cumhuriyet (in Turkish). 25 January 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
5. "Karikatür duayeni Cemal Nadir anısına". Hürriyet Daily News (in Turkish). 11 February 2002. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
6. "Turkish lyric writer Gürel dies". Turkish Daily News. 19 February 2008. Retrieved 6 March 2008.
7. "Yıllar: 1975, Aylar: 2, Günler: 34". Cumhuriyet Arşivi (in Turkish). Retrieved 14 February 2019.
8. "Eski Dışişleri Bakanı Halefoğlu Son Yolculuğuna Uğurlandı". Milliyet (in Turkish). 23 January 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
9. "Rıfat Ilgaz, 22 yıl önce bugün aramızdan ayrıldı". Y24 (in Turkish). 7 July 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
10. Çetin, Mahmut (6 February 2015). (in Turkish). Son devir. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
11. (in Turkish). Biyografim. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
12. Türk Parlamento Tarihi Araştırma Grubu, Türk Parlamento Tarihi, Millî Mücadele ve T.B.M.B. I. Dönem 1919–1923 – III. Cilt: I. Dönem Milletvekillerin Özgeçmişleri, Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi Vakfı Yayınları, Ankara, 1995, ISBN 975-7291-06-4, p. 423.
13. Yavuz, Sevgim Begüm (16 September 2020). "Suna Kıraç son yolculuğuna uğurlanıyor". Sözcü (in Turkish). Retrieved 16 September 2020.
14. "Timur Selçuk'a veda… Son yolculuğuna uğurlandı". sozcu.com.tr (in Turkish). 7 November 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
15. "Mümtaz Hoca yaşama veda etti". Milliyet (in Turkish). 12 November 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
16. "Sunay'ın eşi vefat etti". Radikal (in Turkish). 22 October 2002. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
17. Öztürk, Fahrettin (2 September 2021). "Ferhan Şensoy gözyaşlarıyla uğurlandı". Sözcü (in Turkish). Retrieved 3 September 2021.
18. "Turgay Şeren, son yolculuğuna uğurlandı". Habertürk (in Turkish). 9 July 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
19. "Efsane sporcu Talat Tunçalp toprağa verilsi". Milliyet (in Turkish). 3 January 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
20. "Yusuf Tunaoğlu'nu Andık" (in Turkish). Beşiktaş J.K. 22 July 2012. Archived from the original on 8 May 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2020.

 

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