Actors
Türkan Şoray
A film and television performer who also directed films.
The Turkish encyclopedia
Actors
The faces of Yeşilçam, the film industry that filled Turkish cinemas, and the comedies families still watch together every holiday.
4 pages in this category.
Actors
Şener Şen
An actor whose career includes screen performance and comic storytelling.
Actors
Kemal Sunal
The comic actor whose Şaban character is loved by every generation.
Actors
Adile Naşit
The warm-hearted actress with the unforgettable laugh, Hafize Ana of Hababam Sınıfı.
Questions
What does Yeşilçam mean?
Green Pine — the name of a small street in Beyoğlu where the production companies clustered. It became the name for Turkish popular cinema of the 1950s to the 1970s, an industry that at its peak shot hundreds of films a year.
Why are the same films always on television at bayram?
Because they have become part of the holiday. The Kemal Sunal comedies in particular are watched the way other countries rewatch a Christmas film, and several generations can quote the same lines.
Is a Turkish dizi the same thing?
No, a dizi is a television series, usually with very long episodes, and it belongs to a later era. Turkish series are now exported to dozens of countries, which is how many learners first hear the language.