Selçuk requested in his will to be buried in the town of Hacıbektaş. The Hacı Bektaş Dergahı (dervish lodge), where he was buried, is one of the Turkish Alevi community’s most revered sites. In addition to Selçuk’s family, Turkey Movement for Change (TDH) head Mustafa Sarıgül, former Culture and Tourism Minister Alev Coşkun, former National Security Council (MGK) Secretary-General retired Gen. Tuncer Kılınç, former Parliament Speaker Uluç Gürkan, Hacıbektaş Mayor Ali Rıza Selmanpakoğlu and Democratic Society Party (DSP) Secretary-General Hasan Erçelebi also attended the ceremony.Culture and Tourism Minister Ertuğrul Günay issued a message yesterday, saying Selçuk had left unforgettable traces in the world of Turkish humor. “The fact that he wanted to be buried at the lodge of Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli, who aimed to make the lion and gazelle love each other, shows how he was deeply attached to the humanistic view of Anatolia that calls on all to live together in peace,” the minister said.
Speaking at the ceremony, Selmanpakoğlu said a museum would be built in one of the sections of the dergah to exhibit Seçuk’s works.
The famed caricaturist was born in Muğla’s Milas district in 1922. He worked at several dailies, including Akşam, Milliyet, Yeni İstanbul and Yeni Gazete as well as the magazines Akis, Yön, Devrim and Toplum. He began drawing caricatures in 1957 while at Cumhuriyet and became famous for his Abdulcanbaz character.
A memorial ceremony was held for Selçuk on Saturday at Cumhuriyet headquarters in İstanbul. Selçuk was the brother of journalist and writer İlhan Selçuk, who also works for Cumhuriyet.
