Minibus laden with Yeşilçam photos, soundtracks draws passengers’ interest

GAZİANTEP - Anadolu Agency

A minibus filled with legendary artists’ photos from Turkish cinema’s Yeşilçam era, also known as “Turkey’s Hollywood,” has become popular among the locals of the southeastern province of Gaziantep.

The driver of the minibus plays only the soundtracks of Yeşilçam movies.

“There are many minibuses on this route, between Islahiye and Nurdağı districts. But I know that some passengers wait especially for me and my minibus to get on,” said Ali Coşkun, the 29-year-old driver of the Yeşilçam-themed minibus.

Inside the minibus, commuters get to see the photos of Turkish movie legends like Türkan Şoray, Tarık Akan, Kadir İnanır, Erol Taş, Cüneyt Arkın, Adile Naşit, Kemal Sunal, Hulusi Kentmen, Şener Şen, Filiz Akın, Münir Özkul, Ayhan Işık and Sadri Alışık.

Passengers who see it for the first time are taken aback at first, but then they all have a joyful travel, according to Coşkun.

“I wanted to present a different kind of minibus to my passengers, so I decided to stick the photos of the artists that I admire on the bus,” said the driver, adding that the passengers have already given him a nickname.

They now call him the “captain of nostalgia.”

Yeşilçam, which means “Green Pine” in Turkish, is a name given to Turkish cinema and is originated in the Yeşilçam Street in Istanbul’s Beyoğlu district, where most entertainment companies were located before the 1980’s.