PEOPLE WE ARE PROUD OF

There are three well-known people who were born and brought up in our town Darıca.

One of them is Birol Güven, a fim producer, scenario writer and film director. He was born in Darıca in 1964. His parents came from Crete, Greece and settled in Darıca. As a child, he helped his father. This enabled him to meet lots of middle-class Turkish families. He wasn’t a successful student probably because he worked with his father while studying.  After secondary and high school, he ‘accidentally’ passed the university exam and attended the Department of Foreign Languages. This wasn’t his goal. He says, ‘It was just a chance. ’After graduating from university, he began his career by working as an English teacher and then a tourist guide. He was an enjoyable and humorous person, so his friends suggested him to do a radio programme. Having started this job, he met some famous people like actors and film producers. Then, he entered the world of film industry. He began writing scenarios. He became very successful. But what was his secret for success? He thinks that most of his success comes from Darıca. To him, Darıca is a prototype with its people. It reflects Turkey and Turkish people. He writes about his experiences and memories in Darıca. He generally writes sitcoms. Most of his characters are humorous. He’s achieved many things so far. One of them is MinT, a film company. MinT is both the abbreviation of ‘Made in Turkey’ and the motto of the company. He also founded MinT Academy, a cinema and TV school he founded in Darıca and İstanbul. In MinT Academy, he and his team educate students.

The other important personality born in Darıca is Kaan Özbek, an important journalist in Turkey. He was born in Darıca in 1976. He got his primary, secondary and high school education in Darıca. His goal was to be an electronic engineer. However, journalism was always his dream. He was forced by his father and attended to the Chemistry Department at university. While attending the classes, he prepared a TV programme in a local TV channel. In the same channel, he worked as a reporter and cameraman. Then, he met written media in an office of a big newspaper company. Working as a journalist in many newspaper companies, he became successful. He is the first Turkish journalist working as a prison reporter. He is now a news manager in an international news agent, ABC News Agency, and writes for a newspaper in this agent everyday.

Another important person born in Darıca is Cevat Çapan, a great poet and translator. He was born in 1933. The son of an adventure-loving father and a mother who had come to Turkey from the island of Crete, Çapan went first to America and later to Cuba as a youth. Many years later, he returned to Turkey. The early years of his life though were spent in Darıca, and in fact, his poetry includes many references to family memories from these years.  He attended Robert College in İstanbul. He had the opportunity in these school years to get to know British, American and European literature, as well as to take on roles in many theater productions. Then, he attended Cambridge University where he graduated with a degree in English literature. He worked as an instructor in some of the universities in Turkey. Çapan became an assistant professor in the late 1960s, and then by 1975, a professor at İstanbul University’s Faculty of English Language and Literature. After 1980, he spent more time to poetry. He wrote lots of poems skillfully. His first poem was published in a famous magazine. His poems, translations, drama criticisms and articles were published in newspapers and magazines. He translated poems into Turkish from Greek Literature as well as from English and American Literature. He wrote lots of books including the anthologies of Greek, English and American poetry. He is considered as a productive man with his poems and poetry translations. He is also an experienced translator who has used language skillfully. Thanks to his metaphors and creative similes, he inspired a lot of poets and writers. One of the famous writers says, ‘His love for the poems he translated sometimes overshadows his own poems.’ Çapan’s newest book has just been released, a collection of 36 poems, called "Ara Sıcak” (Warm Entrée). The new poems bring together sensitivities similar to his past poetry works, as well as memories about the past, childhood, friendships and close ties to the future as well.

As a conclusion, we are all proud of and grateful to these successful men for the works they’ve produced for Turkey.