Sermet Erkin

Sermet Erkin — Biography

Sermet Erkin is a Turkish stage magician, journalist and theatre performer born in 1957 in Karamürsel. A graduate of Istanbul University's Department of the History of Philosophy, he studied illusion under Zati Sungur, one of Turkey's most respected masters of the craft, while also appearing as a child on the stage of the Istanbul City Theatres and on Istanbul Radio's children's programming.

He performed in the city theatres until 1977 and later ran his own troupe for a time, amassing one of Turkey's largest collections of Karagöz shadow-puppet figures. From 1974 he turned to illusion as a full-time profession, touring more than 250 Turkish provinces and districts as well as numerous countries across Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia.

Over his career he has written for children's magazines, served as the last editor-in-chief of the children's magazine Bando, and performed for many years at Istanbul's Kervansaray nightclub. On television since 1965 and a guest actor in the series Leyla ile Mecnun in 2011, Erkin still lives in his hometown of Karamürsel, writes for the magazine Atlas Tarih, and continues to perform.