Found in a damaged state: Barış Manço's car in Belgium is coming to Turkey

The red sports car used by the legendary name of Turkish music, Barış Manço, during the years he resided in the Belgian city of Liege, has been transported to Turkey to be exhibited at the Barış Manço Museum in Istanbul.

Manço's 1991 model Honda Prelude, who settled in the Belgian city of Liege in the 1960s and lived there intermittently, was found by his sons, Doğukan and Batıkan Manço, in a warehouse three years ago, damaged by the flood that hit the region.

Following this, his sons initiated legal proceedings to bring the vehicle to the Barış Manço Museum in Moda.

The vehicle, which had not been on the road for 25 years and was waiting to be brought to Turkey, but needed to be 30 years old to be taken out of the country, was set on its way to Turkey by sea in a container by the sponsoring logistics company.

Just before the vehicle, which holds a place in the memories of Barış lovers with its red color, was loaded into the container, those who contributed to the process made evaluations to the AA reporter.

"IT EXPRESSES OUR LIFE IN BELGIUM TO ME"

Batıkan Manço expressed his satisfaction with the conclusion of the 6-7 month process carried out in cooperation with Belgian and Turkish authorities, saying, "I am sending it from here, my brother (Doğukan Manço) will meet it there."

Manço said, "There is another process after the vehicle arrives. My brother will step in for the mechanical part. There will be touch-ups. It will be made operational for the sake of the vehicle's health, but it will not be driven on the road. It will be exhibited at the Barış Manço Museum."

"The vehicle is going where it belongs. It was a duty we wanted to fulfill for all Barış lovers. Clues about Barış Manço's life are exhibited in that museum. Therefore, the place for the vehicle is the Barış Manço Museum," Manço said, summarizing what the vehicle means to him with the words, "This vehicle expresses our life in Belgium to me. My brother and I were born here. We started school here. It was our vehicle here."

Manço stated that the vehicle accompanied them on their family's holidays to Turkey and shared a memory he could not forget:

"Once, on the way back, my father and my brother had set off from Izmir and brought the vehicle to Italy. I have always envied their journey. We met in Italy. We had a holiday there. We went the rest of the way to Belgium by land. That is my longest journey in this vehicle. It was a magnificent holiday. It is among my best memories. We were a father and two sons on a long journey."

Manço explained that his mother used to take his brother and him to and from school with this vehicle, and they took many short-distance trips.

Recalling his father's collecting, Manço stated that he had an interest in not only classic but also sports models, as in the example of this vehicle.

"Actually, as far as I know, my father bought this vehicle for my mother. However, my father had a curiosity for Japanese technology as much as he did for Japanese culture. It is not a vehicle bought by chance," Manço said with a smile, adding, "He knew about cars."

"BARIŞ MANÇO CONTINUES TO UNITE TURKEY AND BELGIUM"

Brussels Consul General Umut Deniz, who was there for the send-off of the vehicle, said, "Today is a very big day for us. We are at the beginning of an initiative that will send the car that the late Barış Manço used in Belgium years ago to Turkey. Barış Manço is a person who won hearts years ago with the bridges he built between Turkey and Belgium for us. We all grew up with his songs, but I think he further reinforced his artist identity by signing beautiful works between these two countries."

Noting that this year is the 60th anniversary of the Turkey-Belgium Labor Agreement, Deniz said, "We are also happy that Barış Manço is at the center of the events by strengthening these symbols in such a year. A short while ago, the mural made in memory of Manço in Liege was inaugurated. Barış Manço continues to unite Turkey and Belgium. We will continue to keep this strong symbol alive together."

"A PROUD SITUATION"

Mehmet Can Günaydın, Benelux Director of the sponsoring company Barsan Global Logistics, also expressed his happiness to be a part of such a project.

Günaydın said, "It was in a bad state in an old warehouse in Liege due to the flood. We took delivery of the vehicle from there under the guidance of Mr. Batıkan and Mr. Doğukan. After the cleaning work, we tried to keep it in our warehouse. With the support of the Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Turkey, the paperwork was completed. It is a proud situation for us."

Ebru Alkan Manço, the wife of Barış Manço's brother, also stated that she pioneered the process regarding the transfer of the vehicle due to her project management role at the same company, saying, "It was one of our biggest dreams for the car to go to Turkey."

Explaining that the idea for the transfer procedures was handled in a short time once it emerged, Alkan Manço noted that the process moved them very much.

News Source: AA