Gülden Karaböcek

Gülden Karaböcek — Biography

Born Saniye Gülden Göktürk, Gülden Karaböcek was born on 4 November 1953 in Ankara, where her musical training began with singing and solfège lessons from Yaşar Aydaş at Ankara Radio. After her family moved to Istanbul, she recorded her first record for the Pathé label at fourteen or fifteen, accompanied on bağlama by Orhan Gencebay. In 1972 a court ruling let her take the surname already used by her older sister, singer Neşe Karaböcek, and she continued her career as Karaböcek; when that sister's ex-husband, Atilla Alpsakarya, married Gülden in 1975, it set off a rift between the two sisters that lasted for decades until they reconciled in 2025. Known for blending Turkish folk music with arabesque and fantezi styles, she became known as the "queen of arabesque" and appeared in the 1978 film Dilek Kutusu. In 2025 and 2026 she toured cities including Marmaris and Kayseri, and filed suit against a music company over the unauthorized use of her work.