Early years

İbrahim Tatlı^[2] was born in Urfa, Turkey^[2] to an Arab father and Kurdish mother.^[3][4][2][5] His mother tongue is Kurdish^[6] and Arabic.^[7] He lost his father during childhood and did not attend high school.^[8] He did not know how to read or write growing up.^[8]

Musical career

İbrahim Tatlıses is often regarded as one of the best-known singers of Turkey, being so famous that he has the nicknames "İbo" and "İmparator". He has had a critically acclaimed and illustrious music career in genres such as Turkish folk music and Arabesk, beginning in 1970 at the age of 18 with his first tape Kara Kız/Beni Yakma Gel Güzelim. He sold tapes and sang at weddings/restaurants until a producer discovered him in 1976. The following year his album Ayağında Kundura, featuring songs such as Ayağında Kundura, İndim Gülüm Bağına and Kırmızı Kurdele, was a smash hit and propelled him to fame. Some of his earlier songs have Kurdish origin and were translated into Turkish. From then on, the hit albums came one after another, such as the 1983 album Yalan, the 1985 album Mavi Mavi, and the 1987 album Allah Allah. He has recorded a total of 42 albums from 1970 to 2014.

Film and television

İbrahim Tatlıses has appeared in a total of 37 movies/TV shows, beginning in 1978 with Sabuha. In Turkey, well-known singers star in movies with the same name as the album they recently released, and thus the movies include songs from said albums. This is also seen in the 1975 Ayağında Kundura, its namesake being his smash-hit album. From there he appeared in numerous movies in the 1980s and 1990s, further cementing his colossal fame as the most famous singer and a quite well-known actor in Turkey. Aside from the cinema industry, Tatlıses hosted the critically acclaimed and highly successful İbo Show, which aired from 1993 to 2011. It was one of the most-watched and loved shows in Turkey.

Marriages

Tatlıses married his first wife, Adalet Sara, in Urfa. The couple had three children, a son named Ahmet Salim, and two daughters named Gülşen Sara and Gülden Ferrah. In 1979, he began a relationship with his Kara Yazma co-star Perihan Savaş. From his marriage to Savaş, he has a daughter named Melek Zübeyde. Savaş and Tatlıses later got divorced. In 1984, it was reported in the media that claims were made by Savaş that she was beaten for seven hours after being kidnapped by İbrahim Tatlıses, following which she applied to the prosecutor's office and asked for his arrest. Tatlıses said in his interrogation by the police, "Savaş is the mother of my child. To let her wander around would make it feel beneath me."^[9] From his relationship with his Günah co-star, Derya Tuna, he has a son, named İbrahim "İdo" Tatlıses.

After returning from Germany, Tatlıses married Ayşegül Yıldız on 27 September 2011 in the rehabilitation facility where he was receiving treatment.^[10] Mayor of Şişli Mustafa Sarıgül officiated the marriage service, while Fatih Terim was the witness.^[11] Together the couple had a daughter, named Elif Ada.^[12] They divorced in November 2013.^[13]

From his relationship with Işıl Çıtak, Tatlıses had a daughter named Dilan Çıtak, who was born in 1989. He acknowledged and accepted her as his child in 2013.^[14] In 2021, he announced his relationship with Gülçin Karakaya, who is 43 years his junior.^[15]

Assassination attempts

He was shot in the leg in 1990 and survived an assassination attempt in 1998.

On 14 March 2011, he was attacked and seriously wounded in the head.^[16][17] At 00:30 local time, he and his spokeswoman Buket Çakıcı were shot at by unknown assailants after leaving the offices of the private Turkish channel Beyaz TV following his weekly television show.^[16][17] As they entered their vehicle, Tatlises was hit with a bullet that entered the back of his skull and exited through the front. Çakıcı was also hit in the neck, but survived the attack. The perpetrators carried Kalashnikov rifles and escaped in a black car.^[18] He was taken to the Acıbadem Hospital in Istanbul for emergency treatment.^[19] He underwent a four-hour operation to have the bullet removed, after which he was in stable condition. He regained consciousness five days later.^[2] After a week, the doctors announced that he was recovering well. Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited him and also announced that he was recovering well. The police in Turkey arrested around 20 people involved in the attack.^[2] On April 7, Tatlıses left Acıbadem Hospital with a police escort and travelled to Atatürk International Airport, where he was boarded the Ministry of Health's Hawker 900XP air ambulance for Germany, to receive intensive rehabilitation at the Murnau Trauma Clinic.^[20]

Guardianship

In June 2022, Tatlıses's son Ahmet applied to the court to become his father's guardian as he thought his father was not mentally healthy.^[21][22]

Business

Tatlıses is involved in the restaurant and tourism businesses, as well as in construction projects with business partner Ali Sariyildiz in Iraq.^[23]

Kurdish issue

In the 1980s the Turkish government had banned the use of Kurdish; at a concert in Sweden in December 1986, he had sung folk songs in Kurdish and was thus prosecuted for separatist propaganda, but found not guilty in 1987.^[24] The charge was dismissed after he showed regret.^[25] In 1988, he was asked by businessman Mehmet Yılmaz at a cultural festival in Uşak to sing a Kurdish folk song, but refused, saying "I am a Kurd, but the laws ban me from singing in Kurdish".^[24][26] For this, he was indicted on September 19, 1988.^[24]

In 1994 there was evidence that Turkish counter-guerrilla organizations targeted Kurdish businessmen, including Tatlıses, İdris Ozbir, Halis Toprak, and Necdet Ulucan.^[27] In 1998 it was reported that Tatlıses offered to be an intermediary between the government and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) during the armed conflict. He recorded a song with Iranian Kurdish musician Abdollah Alijani Ardeshir.^[28]

Actor

Director

• 1982: Yalan
• 1983: Yorgun
• 1983: Günah
• 1984: Ayşem
• 1986: Sarhoş
• 1986: Gülümse Biraz
• 1986: Gülüm Benim
• 1987: Dertli Dertli
• 1988: Hülya
• 1988: Aşıksın
• 1997: Fırat (mini) TV Series
• 2003: Hayat Bilgisi Konuk Oyuncu TV mini series
• 2009: Hicran Yarasi 5 Bolum Konuk Oyuncu

Writer

• 1983: Günah
• 1998: At Gitsin
• 1999: Selam Olsun
• 2001: Yetmez Mi?

Producer

• 1982: Yalan