Alpay Nazikoğlu laid to rest in Ankara

Renowned Turkish pop musician Alpay Nazikoğlu has been laid to rest in Ankara. A funeral ceremony was held at the Bilkent Ahmet Hamdi Akseki Mosque following the noon prayer, after which he was buried in the family cemetery at Cebeci Asri Cemetery.

The ceremony was attended by various figures, including Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Serdar Çam, and received condolences from officials such as Minister Mehmet Ersoy and Ankara Metropolitan Mayor Mansur Yavaş.

Prior to the burial, there was public debate regarding the artist's final wishes. His longtime companion, Gizem Pekiner, claimed that Alpay had expressed a desire to be buried in Bodrum and noted that a grave site had been prepared in Gündoğan. However, Alpay's official wife, Bilge Nazikoğlu, and his children, Zeynep and Tuluğ Nazikoğlu, issued a joint statement rejecting these claims and requesting that the funeral process not be subject to public dispute.

Born in Ankara in 1935, Alpay was a prominent figure in Turkish pop, rock, and Anadolu pop. He was well known for timeless hits such as ‘Eylül’de Gel’, ‘Fabrika Kızı’, and ‘Gitme’.