Sevim Tanürek (1934(?) – 16 May 1998) was a

Turkish classical music Ottoman music ( tr, Osmanlı müziği) or Turkish classical music ( tr, Türk sanat müziği) is the tradition of classical music originating in the Ottoman Empire. Developed in the palace, major Ottoman cities, and Sufi lodges, it traditionally ...

artist.

Early life

She performed in

TRT The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT; Turkish : ) is the national public broadcaster of Turkey, founded in 1964. TRT was for many years the only television and radio provider in Turkey. Before the introduction of commercial radio i ...

's Radio Ankara between 1950 and 1959. Afterwards, she started her stage performances 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, ...

. She released some 45 rpm singles, sang together with her musical group in a number of film scores and acted also in three movies and one television series as a singer.

Traffic accident and death

On 11 May 1998 at around 11:45 a.m. local time, while walking on a

pedestrian crossing A pedestrian crossing (or crosswalk in American English) is a place designated for pedestrians to cross a road, street or avenue. The term "pedestrian crossing" is also used in the Vienna and Geneva Conventions, both of which pertain to road sig ...

with a green traffic light for pedestrians, she was hit by a car and severely injured. The driver, who fled the scene of the accident was identified as

Ahmet Burak Erdoğan Ahmet Burak Erdoğan (born 4 July 1979) is a Turkish businessman, the owner of MB Denizcilik, and the eldest son of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the President of Turkey. Personal life Ahmet Burak Erdoğan was born in Istanbul on 4 July 1979, the son o ...

, son of the current President of Turkey

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the List of presidents of Turkey, 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as Lis ...

, then

Mayor of Istanbul This is a list of mayors of Istanbul, Turkey. This covers the Ottoman Empire to the modern day; the name of the city in English is Constantinople during the Ottoman period and in the Republican era until 1930. Ottoman Empire During 1453–18 ...

. Tanürek was taken suffering from severe

traumatic brain injury A traumatic brain injury (TBI), also known as an intracranial injury, is an injury to the brain caused by an external force. TBI can be classified based on severity (ranging from mild traumatic brain injury TBI/concussionto severe traumatic b ...

first to

Şişli Şişli () is one of the 39 districts of Istanbul, Turkey. Located on the European side of the city, it is bordered by Beşiktaş to the east, Sarıyer to the north, Eyüp and Kağıthane to the west, and Beyoğlu to the south. In 2009, Şi ...

Children's Hospital ( tr, Şişli Etfal Hastanes), and then delivered to Taksim German Hospital ( tr, Alman Hastanesi), where she underwent surgery and was treated in the intensive care unit. Five days after the accident, she died on 16 May 1998. Ahmet Burak Erdoğan allegedly did not possess a drivers' license at the time of the accident. He was tried without being arrested. Although in a first report, he was found guilty by "3 points in 8" and a prison term of 3–20 months was suggested by the prosecutor, upgraded to 2–5 years after the death of Tanürek, he was found innocent in a final hearing and absolved, as the court found that Tanürek was alone responsible for being hit. After the accident, Tanurek's husband said that although they knew her health condition was in question, he did not expect her death. He called for the motorist to be punished, and denied agreeing to accept TL 20,000

blood money Blood money may refer to: * Blood money (restitution), money paid to the family of a murder victim Films * ''Blood Money'' (1917 film), a film starring Harry Carey * ''Blood Money'' (1921 film), a British-Dutch film * ''Blood Money'' (1933 ...

. "There cannot be forgiveness with money". Following a memorial service held in front of the Radio Istanbul building, she was laid to rest at the

Zincirlikuyu Cemetery __NOTOC__ The Zincirlikuyu Cemetery ( tr, 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 polit ...

. She is survived by her husband Ahmet and son Cavit.

Recognition

In 2007, a song contest was established in her honor.

Filmography

* ''Güzeller Resmi Geçidi'', movie (1960) * ''Tosun İle Yosun'', movie (1963) * ''Taş Plaktan Bugüne'', television series (1989)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanurek, Sevim Turkish classical singers 1998 deaths Pedestrian road incident deaths Road incident deaths in Turkey Burials at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery 1930s births 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century Turkish women singers