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The analogue remains: the weddinger cassette store ergin


“I chose my films > The cassette shop Ergin – A Weddinger veteran

The cassette store Ergin has been in Wedding for about 30 years in the same place where it was opened at that time. It is something of the last bridge connecting guest workers in Germany to Turkey and its pop culture, and the last of its kind. Owner Yüksel Ergin and her son Levent have not bowed to the new technologies and maintained the store , Despite falling customer numbers, Ms. Yüksel does not complain, she talks about her shop as if it were her home.

When and how did you decide to open such a shop??

Yuksel Ergin: At that time, almost everyone from the Turkish neighborhood opened a small shop. We took over our store thanks to our neighbors.

Did you always live in Wedding??

Levent Ergin: Yes. In 1978 we came to Germany with my mother and siblings. My dad arrived shortly before us.

Yuksel Ergin and her son Levent in front of their shop

Where was your home before??

Y.E .: We came from Ankara, but our home is Bolu. More specifically, the village Kıyaslar in Bolu. However, nobody stayed in our village. All have moved either abroad or to the cities. I only drive very seldom, maybe every 7-8 years. Here in Berlin I have at least friends and acquaintances that I can always see.

If Ibrahim released a new album now, I would make a good deal.

How has your district changed in Wedding??

L.E .: Many new shops were opened here, especially “hookah bars”. I’m not such a fan of it. But of course there are also nice new shops and cafes. Of course, a lot has changed here since the fall of the wall.

What kind of cassettes did you sell in the past??

Y.E .: All these shelves were full of video cassettes. We also sold music cassettes, but much less. There were mainly Turkish movies and a few Indian. For a short time we tried it with German films. After a few years a video library was opened after the other.

How did you get the cassettes??

Y.E .: There were a few wholesalers, of which we got the latest movies every week. We got four pieces, because you had to buy a package due to the contract. Whether this was a good movie or a bad one, we had to leave it to fate.

I basically always bought every new movie. And my customers looked at them and brought them back the next day.

(At this moment her big son Bülent comes in)

The films and cassettes of which artists and singers sold the most?

Y.E .: In the past, people each got a movie of different genres. A melodrama, a comedy … Kemal Sunal has always sold well. Of the singers, of course, was İbo (Ibrahim Tatlıses, A.d.R.) the most popular. If he released a new album now, I would make a good deal. And if he just coughs, he’ll buy it. Tarkan and Sezen (Sezen Aksu) are still doing well. Müslüm Gürses exactly like that. Especially truck drivers, who go for a long way, like to hear Müslüm.

An analogue look inside the shop.

Music en masse. A small selection.

What has changed at this store since then??

Y.E .: This store actually went very well, so we did a good deal. But now he is a hobby of mine, my husband and I are retired. I would like to have this shop stay with my children and grandchildren.

Because I’ve been a tenant for so long, the rent is still fine. There are always people coming and asking if I sell. But if I was not in my shop but at home I would probably go to the doctor three times a day out of boredom. I pass my time here. In the course of the day acquaintances pass by, I listen to music, I watch a movie, and before I know it, it’s already evening.

People always stashed the purchased movies in the basement and forgot them. These cassettes have become worn and rotten. I have not thrown away these cassettes, they are all still there. My children and my family, of course we are always together, that’s clear, but I’ve dedicated myself to my films. When I think about it, I wipe it all off individually.

Every day I arrange the shelves. I like this very much. And I do not care about the money.

L.E .: Nowadays there is music streaming and digital television. Hardly anyone brings out an album anymore, everyone releases singles. Previously, they sold millions, now sales of over 100,000 in Turkey are considered a record. My mother has become so used to spending more time at the store than at home.

Spend her time in this shop too, Levent?

L.E .: When I was young already. We always gathered here with my friends. There are so many memories of this place. We celebrate all our birthdays here. For example yesterday my mother’s birthday. This shop brings us together. My children are not as interested as we are. Of course, the new generation does not understand that. No one buys cassettes, some do not even know what that is.

What are people buying today??

Y.E .: I have a client who takes at least 15 movies each time. Always such old films like this one here (She gets up and shows on the shelf “Kara Sevda”). Then he changes the worn out covers and brings them back to me like new. Some care so much and others throw them in the corner.

L.E .: There are also some collectors from Turkey who buy cassettes from us that are no longer available in Turkey.

Y.E .: I recently sent nearly 600 music cassettes, from here to Adıyaman. The customer has tapes from old music companies like Türkola, Uzelli and Destan ordered. Imagine, this person does not find these tapes in Turkey and buys them here. I did not believe it at first, I thought they were picking me up.

I leave the cassette shop Ergin with Sezen Aksu’s album “Işık Doğudan Yükselir”, which I last heard in my father‘s car in 1995.

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