Originally from Balıkesir in Turkey’s Marmara region, Ercan Yasaroglu studied literature at Anadolu University. He left Turkey as a political refugee in 1980 and was a “stateless and homeless” refugee in Syria and Lebanon before settling in Germany in 1982.

Arriving in Berlin completely alone, he built his life in Kreuzberg. He is known and revered as a consultant.

By 2009, he took over the café on Adalbertstraße, and established a transcultural meeting point there, calling it "Cafe Kotti". The cafe is a famous hangout place for Turkish-Germans and a cultural hub for Middle Easterners.