Tea, Sugar and A Dream
That's how our group was taught to say 'thank you' in Turkish. The actual words are 'teşekkür ederim'. If you can master a true Turkish accent, even better.
Salih Ok plays the tulum, a turkish bagpipe. Salih was another customer at Natürel
Muzik the day I was visiting. He offered to demonstrate a variety of instruments
for me. Be sure and view the short video below of Salih's show.
Galipdede Cadde is a narrow, cobblestone street, lined with music stores and some cafes. Stroll across the Galata Köprüsü (bridge), walk to the Karaköy subway station and take it up the steep hill to Beyoğlu. Just around the corner is Galip Dede street. At the end of Galip Dede is Galata Kulesi (tower.)
This is Salih Ok playing the kemençe. The kemençe looks somewhat like a violin
that is played and held in front of the player. The sound is haunting and
exquisite. Salih is quite acomplished on a multitude of instruments.
A budding musician peruses some music outside a music store near the Galata Tower.
In Istanbul, men in dervish outfits dance on small stages for tourists.
One evening, while staying at the Old Greek House in Mustafapasa, a group of local musicians came in to play music for us after dinner. They sang and danced and got most of us up dancing too. I got to sit in on drum! Check out my video on the second adventures page. (Photo courtesy Natalie MacPherson.)
Our skillful bus driver, Rafat, talks with a sus musician. Does the parrot sing along, I wonder.
I had just arrived in Istanbul and gotten off the tram, suitcase still in hand, as I walked through the park on the way to my hotel. What luck to come upon the last day of festivities of the Tulip Festival. I pulled up my suitcase and sat for a spell to enjoy the live music.
In Antalya, we caught Turkey's answer to Riverdance, Fire of Anatolia. This incredible show told the story of the land throughout the ages in music and dance. This shot captures a segment on Sufi Mysticism.
The finale of Fire of Anatolia demonstrated the complex rhythms of the region with women and men playing drums and dancing.
Hasmet demonstrates the zuna for me. The zuna plays a loud and piercing sound, best played outdoors! It was used during wedding celebrations and parades.
As a saxophone player myself, I just couldn't resist taking this photo of a tenor sax playing frog, outside a music store on Galip Dede street.
Spontaneous Performance of Turkish Music
What a great day I was having exploring the Beyoğlu neighborhood of Istanbul. That was where I discovered Naturel Muzik store and met Salih Ok.
Salih is from the Trabzon area of Northeastern Turkey, on the Black Sea. When I met him last April, he was finishing up his studies at Marmara Üniversitesi in Istanbul.
We have maintained a relationship through email and Facebook, where we continue to share music with one another. In this 47 second video, Salih plays three different instruments; tulum, kemençe, and sus.