Sermet Erkin (born 1957) is a well-known

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

stage magician, journalist and former theatre actor.

Early years

Sermet Erkin was born in Karamürsel town of

Kocaeli Province Kocaeli Province ( tr, Kocaeli ili, ) is a province of Turkey and one of only three not to have the same official name as its capital, İzmit, which is thus also sometimes called Kocaeli. The province is the successor of the Ottoman-era Sanjak o ...

in 1957. His name was given by the husband of famous singer Safiye Ayla. He had an older brother Mehmet Saffet. Erkin's family moved to

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

, to a street in the neighborhood of the renowned stage magician

Zati Sungur Hasan Zati Sungur (March 10, 1898 – July 6, 1984) was an internationally recognized Turkish stage magician. Early years Hasan Zati Sungur was born in Bursa on March 10, 1898. He got interested in stage magic during his primary school years. He ...

's home. He was schooled in

Nişantaşı Nişantaşı is an upmarket, largely secular residential neighbourhood in the Şişli district on the European side of Istanbul, Turkey. Separated from Osmanbey and Pangaltı to the west by busy Halaskargazi Caddesi, it is a popular shopping di ...

in 1964. After finishing the high school, he entered

Istanbul University , image = Istanbul_University_logo.svg , image_size = 200px , latin_name = Universitas Istanbulensis , motto = tr, Tarihten Geleceğe Bilim Köprüsü , mottoeng = Science Bridge from Past to the Future , established = 1453 1846 1933 ...

's Faculty of Letters. In the beginning, he studied Turkish Literature, graduated later from the History of Philosophy Department.

Career

Erkin was interested from his childhood on in all kinds of stage arts in addition to stage magic, he was inspired by Zati Sungur. His acting career began when he joined Istanbul City Theatres, where he performed in various plays until 1977. He appeared in the children's theatre play ''Karagözcü ile Sihirbaz'' (" Karagöz Player and the Magician"), which was written by Yalçın Akçay specially in respect of Erkin's stage magic skill. The work earned wider attention because it was the first children's play, which debuted with a gala performance. He continued acting on stage a while after forming his own theatre company. Today, he is still in contact with theatre, organizing theatre festivals. Erkin's mentor was Zati Sungur, international recognized Turkish stage magician. At the age of nineteen, he began a professional career in stage magic in

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich () i ...

, Switzerland, where he was on visit to his niece. After a magic show he performed for neighbor's children during the Easter festival, he was discovered by a Swiss variety manager, who arranged a magic show job for him in a well-known night club. After his return home, he continued to perform shows on stage and television. He toured across Turkey, ln European countries and USA. He appeared more than eighteen years in "Kervansaray", a popular night club in Istanbul, where also his wife Nuray performed folk songs. Erkin makes still appearances also for children in schools. From 1976 on, Sermet Erkin wrote columns on children in newspapers ''

Hürriyet ''Hürriyet'' (, ''Liberty'') is one of the major Turkish newspapers, founded in 1948. , it had the highest circulation of any newspaper in Turkey at around 319,000. ''Hürriyet'' has a mainstream, liberal and conservative outlook. ''Hürriyet ...

'', ''

Milliyet ''Milliyet'' (Turkish for "''nationality''") is a Turkish daily newspaper published in Istanbul, Turkey. History and profile ''Milliyet'' came to publishing life at the Nuri Akça press in Babıali, Istanbul as a daily private newspaper on 3 Ma ...

'', ''

Sabah Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory ...

'' and ''

Günaydın Günaydın is a Turkish surname, literally “good morning”. Notable people with the surname include: *Dilara Buse Günaydın (born 1989), Turkish female swimmer *Engin Günaydın (born 1972), Turkish actor and comedian *Erol Günaydın Erol ...

''. Later, he worked as editorial director for a children's magazine.

Family life

In 1986, Sermet Erkin married to Nuray, a folk music singer. They have a son İsmail Sermet and a daughter Piraye Nazlı. He moved to his hometown Karamürsel in 1998.

References

External links

Personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Erkin, Sermet 1957 births People from Karamürsel Istanbul University alumni Turkish male stage actors Turkish magicians Turkish expatriates in Switzerland Turkish children's writers Turkish journalists Hürriyet people Milliyet people Sabah (newspaper) people Günaydın (newspaper) people Living people