Barış Manço’s car on its way to Türkiye

ISTANBUL

A car belonging to late Barış Manço, one of the legendary names of Turkish music, from when he resided in Belgium, has been transferred to Türkiye to be exhibited at the Barış Manço Museum in Istanbul, after the completion of the legal procedures.

Manço settled in Liege, Belgium in the 1960s and lived there intermittently. His 1991 model Honda Prelude, found in a warehouse by his sons Doğukan and Batıkan Manço, was damaged in the flood that hit the region three years ago. His sons have since initiated legal proceedings to bring the vehicle to the Barış Manço Museum in Istanbul’s Moda.

The car, which has not been on the road since his death 25 years ago, has been sitting in a warehouse awaiting it’s return to Türkiye. Finally, it was sent to the country by sea in a container by a sponsoring logistics company.

Batıkan Manço expressed his gratitude at the end of the near seven-month process, carried out in cooperation with Belgian and Turkish authorities, saying, "I am sending it from here, my brother [Doğukan Manço] will meet it there."

He said, “There is another process after the vehicle arrives in Türkiye. My brother will deal with the mechanical part. There will be touch-ups. The car will be operational, but it will not be on the road. It will be exhibited at the Barış Manço Museum.”

Batıkan Manço stated that his mother drove him and his brother to school in this vehicle, and that they made many short-distance trips. Reminding that his father was a collector, Batıkan Manço stated that he was interested not only in classic models but also in sports models, as in the example of this vehicle.

“Actually, as far as I know, my father bought this vehicle for my mother. However, he was interested in Japanese technology and Japanese culture. It is not a vehicle purchased by chance. He knew about cars,” he added.

Brussels Consul General Umut Deniz, who was there to send off the car to Türkiye, said, “This is a very big day for us. We send the car that the late Barış Manço drove in Belgium years ago to Türkiye. Barış Manço won our hearts many years ago with the bridges he built between Türkiye and Belgium. This year is the 60th anniversary of the Türkiye-Belgium Labor Agreement. We are also happy that Barış Manço is at the center of the events by strengthening these symbols in such a year. A wall was recently built in Liege in memory of Manço. A painting was unveiled. Barış Manço continues to unite Türkiye and Belgium. We will continue to keep this powerful symbol alive.”