Esin Afşar (''née'' Sinanoğlu; 1 January 1936
– 14 November 2011) was a
Turkish singer and stage actress.
Personal life
She was born in
Bari, Italy to Necat HaÅŸim SinanoÄŸlu, a writer and consular official of
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
and his wife Rüveyde, a journalist and writer. Esin was the youngest of five siblings. One of her brothers,
Oktay SinanoÄŸlu, became a notable professor of chemistry. Other brothers became professor of
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
, professor of
ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
, and press chief at the
European Council
The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body (directorial system) and a symbolic collective head of state, that defines the overall political direction and general priorities of the European Union (EU). It is composed of the he ...
in
Strasbourg
Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
.
She attended
TED Ankara Koleji, and then studied piano at the
Ankara State Conservatory.
[Esin AfÅŸar's page ](_blank)
After graduation, she entered
Turkish State Opera and Ballet as a pianist. But then her focus shifted to the stage. In 1958 she married Kerim AfÅŸar, another stage artist. After 12 years of stage she returned to music and began singing in French and Italian. But after collaborating with
Ruhi Su, she included Turkish folk music (
türkü) to her repertoire. After she got a divorce from Kerim Afşar, she married Şener Aral in 1975. After the mid-1980s, she was mainly active in foreign tours. She also played parts in drama. In 1999, she was hospitalized and her recovery was slow.
Although she briefly returned to concerts and album recordings, AfÅŸar died on 14 November 2011 in a hospital in
Istanbul
Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
, where she was taken due to
leukemia about three weeks earlier. She was laid to rest at the
Karacaahmet Cemetery. She was survived by her husband Şener Aral, son Doğan Can and daughter Pınar.
Career
Although her repertoire included a wide collection of various melodies of different tastes, her fame mainly stems from Turkish folklore. In 1969 two of her arranged folklore melodies became hits. These were ''Bana seni gerek'' (lyrics by
Yunus Emre (1240-1321) and composition by Esin AfÅŸar herself) and ''Yoh Yoh'' (by contemporary folklore poet Kul Ahmet). The melody on the reverse side of the Yoh Yoh 45rpm, was ''Bebek'', a well known anonymous
Turkmen folklore melody. After the release of ''Yoh Yoh'' she was nicknamed "Bayan Yoh Yoh" ("Mrs. Yoh Yoh").
She was sent to
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
by
İhsan Sabri Çağlayangil, the minister of Foreign Affairs as an official representative of Turkish culture. In 1970, she gave a series of concerts in
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. In 1972, she visited
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
(especially those republics which would soon be called Turkic Republics) and
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
. In 1973, she was in
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
,
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
and
Tunis
Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...
and in 1974 in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. She also participated in the
Turkish under contest to nominate a Turkish participant for the
Eurovision Song Contest 1975. In 1980, in a live TV program, she sang a melody with lyrics from
Nazım Hikmet and her melodies were banned by the military junta. In 1985, she gave a concert in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. In 1988, she appeared in concerts at
Lausanne, Switzerland, and the next year, in 1989 at
Mulhouse, France.
Esin AfÅŸar and Arabesque
Esin AfÅŸar was strictly against a new style of music in Turkey emerged after the 1970s, named
Arabesque. She protested Arabesque by composing a melody "Arabeske Ä°nat" ("In Spite of Arabesque").
BGST Müzik page
; accessed 4 April 2015.
Discography
Albums
Source:[Discography](_blank)
* Dün ve Bugünün Türk Şiir ve Ezgileri, 1986 (poems)
* Ruhi Su'ya Türkü, 1987
* Yunus Emre, 1991
* Esin Alaturka, 1995
* Atatürk, 1997
* Özlem, 1998
* Pembe Uçurtma, 1998
* Caz Yorumlarıyla Aşık Veysel, 1999
* Nazım Hikmet Şarkıları, 2000
* Yunus Emre & Mevlana Şarkıları, 2002
* Söz Çiğdem Talu, 2006
* Büyük Türk Şairi Nazım Hihmet, 2010
* Esin Afşar Odeon Yılları, 2010
45 rpm singles
Source:
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Afsar, Esin
1936 births
2011 deaths
Turkish women singers
Turkish stage actresses
Musicians from Bari
TED Ankara College Foundation Schools alumni
Ankara State Conservatory alumni
Burials at Karacaahmet Cemetery
Deaths from leukemia in Turkey
20th-century Turkish folk musicians
21st-century Turkish folk musicians
Turkish women folk musicians