Zati Sungur

Zati and Necla Sungur in Egypt

Zati Sungur (born March 10, 1898 in Bursa ; died July 6, 1984 in Istanbul ) was the first internationally known Turkish illusionist . His repertoire included the "Maiden Sawn into Thin Box" as well as the Flying Maiden . It was his concern to establish sorcery ( sihirbazlık ), which in the young republic was often equated with trickery ( hokkabazlık ) and fooling around ( madrabazlık ), as an art form. His trademark on stage were cylinder and monocle .

Zati Sungur was born in 1898 to a dignified family in Bursa. In elementary school he cut cuffs and collars from white cardboard and astonished his comrades and family with sleight of hand. He attended elementary and middle school in his hometown and then, against his father's wishes, graduated from the Navy NCO School ( Astsubay Çarkçı Okulu ) in Istanbul. He was then sent to Germany in 1916 to train officers for submarines. The First World War broke out. Zati Sungur missed the last ship that was supposed to bring the Turkish naval students back home and found himself penniless in Cologne, where he made his way as a worker at the Humboldt-Deutz works. At the instigation of his foreman, who was himself a hobby magician, he was introduced to magic groups, asked Conradi Horster for tricks and specialist literature, and soon afterwards he dared to perform in front of an audience with Fez in the evening in Cologne's Volksgarten. Alois Kassner (1887-1970), the then world-famous illusionist, approached him a little later after a performance and advised him to try his hand at being a professional. With this encouragement, Sungur borrowed his first top hat and tailcoat and performed in the Berlin winter garden. Shortly afterwards he had to leave his first wife, the daughter of his host in Cologne, behind with his two young sons, and in 1922 he went on a world tour with a group of artists that took him through France and Italy to South America. He then settled in Argentina, first worked in cinemas and variety shows as a magician and founded his own show in Buenos Aires with his Italian partner Miss Neraide.

The color of his skin and his physiognomy did not reveal him as a Turk, which is why his manager called him 'Comte de Richmond'. Under this name and later as 'Comte Sati von Richmond' he toured numerous cities in Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Chile. After the 1930s he also appeared as "Zati Bey with his partner Melek Hanım". A Turkish businessman who admired Zati Bey's show on his trip to Buenos Aires persuaded him to return to Turkey after spending 14 years in South America. On April 21, 1936, Zati Sungur's ship arrived in the port of Istanbul.

Zati Sungur performed on May 9, 1936 in Fransız Tiyatrosu in Istanbul, now Ses Tiyatrosu, with great success. His performances caused a sensation in all cities, and many newspapers reported about him. Legends were told about him, and Kemal Ataturk was repeatedly entertained by him. He divorced his German wife in 1938 and married his assistant Necla Hanım. The couple had two daughters: Aynur Sungur Tuncer and Saynur Oktem. In 1938-1939 he toured with his ten assistants and two trucks with around 10 tons of self-made magic material through numerous cities in Turkey, Greece and Egypt, in 1949 and 1950 in Cyprus, Austria and Italy. In 1959 he toured again with his show through Egypt and Greece and then in many small and large cities throughout Turkey.

In 1966 Sungur said goodbye to the stage in order to set up what was then the only studio in Turkey for the manufacture and dispatch of magic utensils at home. In 1968 his book "Zati Sungur Öğretiyor, Salon Oyun ve Eğlenceleri" appeared (Zati Sungur teaches chamber games and amusements). In 1973 he offered 542 different magic tricks for sale in the 322-page catalog of his studio. He created the plan and the instructions, manufactured the various components in his workshop at home or elsewhere and, with the help of his wife Necla, sent them by post to the most remote corners of Turkey for years.

In 1975 he received the first prize at the Magic Congress in Karlovy Vary in Czechoslovakia. In 1979 he was honored with the "Order of Merlin" by the "International Brotherhood of Magicians (USA) (IBM)" association. In 1981 he was named 'Kral Magiales' (World Champion of Magic) by the Magic Congress in Karlovy Vary. In 1981 he was awarded honorary membership by the Magical Circle of Germany eV (MZvD for short) (International Association of Amateur and Professional Magicians).

Zati Sungur died of heart failure in Istanbul at the age of 87 when he was constructing new magic tricks for his planned anniversary.

Trivia

Alexander Adrion, recognized master of magical chamber art and researcher of the history of magic, oriental magic and the psychology of deception and author of several books on the history of magic, honors Zati Sungur in his book "The Art of Magic" 1978 as "Master Magician of the Near East "and writes in his article about Zati Sungur (page 181):" His technical knowledge helps him to give familiar illusions unusual climaxes. Girls rotate on sword tips in the air, the hovering maiden not only floats freely in the air, she turns around his own axis during the levitation process […] Zati Sungur is known and loved throughout the Middle East, and his fame there means that his name is identical with magic, even now after he has retired from the stage . 'Zati-Sungur-making' - that means for every Turk in our countries that something will be made to disappear I have to tell legends about Sungur with great seriousness that leaves no doubt: - "Zati Sungur went to the hairdresser. As soon as he was sitting on the chair, he said to the master: "I still have to do something. Here you have my head, you haird it" - took it off, handed it to the stunned hairdresser and walked away headless. "

Zati Sungur reported that a viewer in South America fired three shots at him because the viewer believed that Sungur was actually sawing a woman.

swell

• Website with pictures and information about Zati Sungur (Turkish) Prepared by: Dr. Selim Basarir
• Tarih dergisi No. 2, July 2014, pages: 55-62 with photos "Sihirbazlar Kralı Zati Sungur" (Zati Sungur, the magical king, his life story with pictures and information, written by his daughter Aynur Sungur Tuncer) www.tarihdergi.com, ISSN  2148-547X .
• Magic in Istanbul: Dr.Metin And, 1978, 67 pages, pp. 49-61, published by Micky Hades Int. Calgary.
• Ümit Bayazoğlu: Uzun, İnce Yolcular. 42 portre. Istanbul 2014, p. 60 ff.
• Milbourne Christopher: The Illustrated History of Magic, Great Britain, 1975, 432 pp., 270
• Zati Sungur Öğretiyor: Salon Oyun ve Eğlenceleri (Zati Sungur teaches chamber plays) 96 pages, Istanbul, 1968
• Üstad Zati Sungur'un Sihirbazlık ve İllüzyon Hünerleri Kataloğu, 322 pages, 1973 Istanbul
• The MAGIE, monthly trade journal from the publishing house Magischer Zirkel von Deutschland eV (International Association of Amateur and Professional Magicians), see the journals, 1981-1984
• Adrion Alexander, "The Art of Magic", pp. 181-182, DuMont Buchverlag, Cologne 1978, ISBN 3-7701-1064-1 .
• GENII, The Conjurors' Magazine, Vol 22-June 1958- No 10, "Zati Sungur of Turkey" (cover and inside 3 pages)
• Tratado Completo De Prestidigitaçao E Ilusionismo, J. Peixoto, Sao Paulo 1937, 455 pages, pages: 36, 164, 268-270
• Trucs De Magia Selecionados, J. Peixoto, Sao Paulo 1946, 523 pages, pages 154 and 493
• Zati Sungur's entire collection of valuable books and monthly magazines about magic, newspaper clippings, self-published flyers, handwritten show programs, entire collection of his stage photos and private photos from the period from South America- 1922-1936, Turkey 1936-1984- until today and from all Countries of the tour (from his archives, since his death in the custody of his daughter Aynur Sungur Tuncer).