RIP Nihat Ziyalan

 

Yeşilçam's master actor, poet Nihat Ziyalan passed away

Medyascope

October 12, 2026

 

Poet and writer Nihat Ziyalan, one of the legendary names of Yeşilçam, died at the age of 90 in Sydney, Australia.

Who is Nihat Ziyalan?

Nihat Ziyalan, born on February 26, 1936 in Adana, is a poet, writer and theater and film actor. Ziyalan, who is known for the films he starred in in Turkish cinema, especially during the Yeşilçam period, turned to cinema with the encouragement of his childhood friend Yılmaz Güney. After acting at Adana City Theater and Ankara Art Theater, he moved to Yeşilçam and starred in many films.

Ziyalan, who started his literary life with his poems on the art page of the newspaper Bugün published in Adana, later published in magazines such as Yeditepe, Dost, Pazar Postası and Papirüs. Ziyalan, whose poems are influenced by the Second New movement, wrote stories and novels as well as poetry.

Ziyalan's poetry books include One of the Sullen Faces (1963), Pigeon Flight (1980), Poems from Australia (1985), Dear Poetry (2007) and Tomurcuk Sevda (2009). His novels Güneşle Damgalı (2000) and Menekşeli Konak (2004) and short story books Short Pants Sevda (2001) and Severim Mondayleri (2005) were also published.

Ziyalan, who immigrated to Australia in 1980, continued his life in Sydney. In 2009, 1. He was awarded the Çukurova Award. He is the father of poet, writer and physician Mustafa Ziyalan.

ZIYALAN, Nihat

Born: 2/26/1936, Adana, Turkey

Died: 10/11/2026, Sydney, New South Wales Australia

 

Nihat Ziyalan’s westerns – actor:

Zagor – 1970 (Rodrigo)

Kan ve Kin – 1973