Süleyman Sadık Eliyeşil (2 November 1925 – 16 June 2008) was a wealthy

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 ...

businessman as well as a

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

owner and breeder, best known for his

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

s' record winning of 13 races at the

Gazi Race The Gazi Race ( tr, Gazi Koşusu) is a Turkish thoroughbred horse flat race that is established in honor of the founder of the Turkish Republic Gazi Mustafa Kemal. It is country's most prestigious horse racing event, which is held uninterrupted ...

, Turkey's most prestigious horse racing event. He was a third-generation member of a rich landowner and industrialist family.

Biography

Sadık Eliyeşil was born on 2 November 1925 to a wealthy family at Tarsus, Mersin Province in southern Turkey. His ancestors were landowners and textile producers in the cotton-growing

Çukurova Çukurova () or the Cilician Plain (''Cilicia Pedias'' in antiquity), is a large fertile plain in the Cilicia region of southern Turkey. The plain covers the easternmost areas of Mersin Province, southern and central Adana Province, western Osman ...

region since the 1880s. The diverse companies owned and run by his family were incorporated in 1972 under Çukurova Holding, one of Turkey's biggest

conglomerate Conglomerate or conglomeration may refer to: * Conglomerate (company) * Conglomerate (geology) * Conglomerate (mathematics) In popular culture: * The Conglomerate (American group), a production crew and musical group founded by Busta Rhymes ** Co ...

s today. It is notable that the home of Müftüzade Sadık

Pasha Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, gener ...

, Sadık Eliyeşil's paternal grandfather, in Tarsus was one of the first two houses to be electrified in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

in 1902, twelve years before electricity was available in

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, ...

, the empire's then capital. Following his secondary education at Şişli Terakki High School and Boğaziçi High School in Istanbul, he studied textile engineering at Manchester University in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. After graduating with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in 1949, Sadık Eliyeşil returned home. Between 1963 and 1974, Sadık Eliyeşil served on the board of

Mersin İdmanyurdu SK Mersin (), also known as İçel, is a large city and a port on the Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Mersin (İçel) Province. It is made up of four municipalities and district governorates: Akdeniz, Mezit ...

. He died on 16 June 2008 in Istanbul at the age of 82. Following a funeral service at the Veliefendi Race Course and a religious service at Levent Mosque, he was laid to rest in the family grave at Yeniköy Cemetery in Istanbul. Sadık Eliyeşil was survived by wife Gülsüm, a son, Necmettin and two daughters, Şerife and Meliha, as well as six grandchildren. One of his granddaughters, Melissa Eliyeşil, born in 1984 in Istanbul, married into the Faber-Castell family.

Horse racing

Sadık Eliyeşil became interested in equestrian sport in 1943. After his return from the United Kingdom, he worked in the 1950s with his uncle, who owned a stable. In 1956, Sadık Eliyeşil entered Turkish Jockey Club ( tr, Türkiye Jokey Kulübü, TJK), the renowned equestrian club in the country. In later years, Sadık Eliyeşil served in the club's board of directors. In an interview, he stated that "His grandfather and uncle had stables, and he is continuing this tradition. He owns four and his wife six racehorses. The family owns two stables in Konya Ereğli and Çamtepe, Tarsus, in which 48 racehorses more are bred." He added that his favourite racehorse is "Karayel" (literally: Mistral), which won the Gazi Race in 1973. A great fan of equestrian sport, he admitted that he was not able to ride horse. He said "Horse breeding and horse riding are very different activities." His racehorses won the most prestigious horse race

( tr, Gazi Koşusu) in Turkey 13 times between 1950 and 2005, setting a record which is hard to break. In the following years of his death, a horse race is scheduled at the Veliefendi Race Course with a prize named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eliyesil, Sadik 1925 births People from Tarsus, Mersin Alumni of the University of Manchester Textile engineers 20th-century Turkish businesspeople Turkish racehorse owners and breeders 2008 deaths 20th-century Turkish engineers