Early years İbrahim Tatlı was born in
Urfa, Turkey to an
Arab father and
Kurdish mother inside a cave. His
native language is
Kurdish and
Arabic. He lost his father during childhood and did not attend high school. He did not know how to read or write growing up.
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. His music also took influence from old Armenian folk songs as the writer for his songs was an Armenian named
Garo Mafyan.
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 him as a famous singer and well-known actor in Turkey. Aside from the cinema industry, Tatlıses hosted the
İbo Show, which aired from 1993 to 2011. He also founded a record and distribution company called
Idobay Music in 2000, and in 2019 he transferred ownership of the company
Idobay Music to another person who continues to work in the field of music.
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." 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. Mayor of Şişli
Mustafa Sarıgül officiated the marriage service, while
Fatih Terim was the witness. Together the couple had a daughter, named Elif Ada. They divorced in November 2013. 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. In 2021, he announced his relationship with Gülçin Karakaya, who is 43 years his junior.
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. 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. He was taken to the Acıbadem Hospital in Istanbul for emergency treatment. He was operated on by
İlhan Elmacı.He underwent a four-hour operation to have the bullet removed, after which he was in stable condition. He regained consciousness five days later. 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. 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. He was also criticized for his stance on accepting the Armenian Genocide that took place in 1915 which is why many believe was also the cause for the assassination attempt.
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.
Business Tatlıses is involved in the restaurant and tourism businesses, as well as in construction projects with business partner Ali Sarıyıldız in
Iraq.
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. The charge was dismissed after he showed regret. 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". For this, he was indicted on September 19, 1988. 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. In 2018, he supported the
Operation Olive Branch in
Afrin laid out by the
Turkish Armed Forces against the mainly-Kurdish militia
YPG. ==Discography==