Meral And Zuhal, The Twins Behind 'Param Yok Pulum Yok,' Now Live Quietly In Istanbul's Moda
In the 1970s, almost everyone in Turkey could hum 'Param Yok Pulum Yok' (roughly 'I Haven't a Penny to My Name'). The twin sisters who sang it, Meral and Zuhal, are back in the conversation decades later. According to Turkish daily Sabah, the pair left the stage long ago and now lead a quiet life in Istanbul.
Before music, Meral and Zuhal worked in banking and modeling until producer Fecri Ebcioğlu discovered them.
Born in 1947, Meral and Zuhal spent their childhood and teenage years in Denizli and studied at Denizli Commercial High School. After moving to Istanbul they worked for a while in banking and modeling, until producer Fecri Ebcioğlu noticed them and their lives took a different turn.
They released their first records under the name 'İkizler' ('The Twins') and later became known as Meral-Zuhal. 'Param Yok Pulum Yok' brought them to a wide audience in the 1970s, and the song stuck in people's memories through the 1974 film Uyanık Kardeşler, starring Kadir İnanır and Müjdat Gezen.
Why they left the stage
The success of the song sped up the twins' rise in the 1970s, but the popularity of arabesk music in the 1980s changed the scene completely. Meral and Zuhal gradually cut back on performing and eventually left the music world altogether. Sabah reports that Barış Manço was among their close friends and wrote a song for the sisters after they lost their mother.
Today Meral and Zuhal live in Moda and spend most of their days looking after street animals.
According to Sabah, the sisters live a low-key life in Moda, in Istanbul's Kadıköy district, and devote much of their time to caring for street animals. Now in their late 70s, they have made looking after animals the center of their daily routine.
Their songs still turn up on nostalgia playlists, but the days once spent under studio and stage lights now pass on the streets of Moda.
Source: Sabah
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