YILMAZ AKKAYA (29)
Yilmaz grew up in one of the working-class
neighborhoods of Istanbul. When his parents
pass away, he starts to work at Master Ayhan's
garageYilmaz who has been earning his keep for
years is head over heels in love with Zuleyha, the
prettiest and smartest girl in the neighborhood.
There is nothing he wouldn’t do for Zuleyha,
whom he would like to marry one day. Yilmaz is
a brave young man who acts the way he feels, so
when Zuleyha's brother Veli sells her off to Naci,
Yilmaz goes mad with rage and kills Naci.
He lives according to his heart and his love for
Zuleyha. After killing Naci, he decides to surrender
himself to the police since his conscience won't let
him rest. When Ayhan tells him to run away, he
leaves his one true love behind since he doesn’t
want to drag Zuleyha into the unknown.
After coming to Adana to acquire fake ID's for
a new and simple life with Zuleyha, he bumps
into Gaffur, his friend. That is how Zuleyha and
Yilmaz walk into the Yaman Ranch where their
lives will be altered forever. When Zuleyha hears
that Hunkar is planning to throw a collective
wedding, she lies and says that Yilmaz is her
brother, in order to prevent Yilmaz from getting
caught. Yilmaz starts to face the cruel side of life.
He is thrown to prison when Hunkar turns them
in. Every moment he is away from his Zuleyha
hurts his heart.
After getting out of prison, he sees that Demir
and Zuleyha have married which devastates him.
When he finds out that Zuleyha was forced into
this marriage, Demir becomes his mortal enemy
which is when he comes across Cumali Fekeli
again. Yilmaz turns into a brand-new man. All
that has happened to him in Adana, his time in
prison and what he has witnessed after, destroys
any semblances of the old Yilmaz.