2. Turkish Music Culture and Examples Turkey’s cultural fabric is made up of a rich combination of diverse cultures rooted deeply in history. By virtue of its geographical position, Turkey lies at the axis of the cultures of the East, the West, the Middle Eastern, the Mediterranean and Islam.
3. Anatolia is one of the world’s oldest human habitats – hosts of civilizations have called it home – and it enjoys a unique cultural richness with its thousands of years of history. Anatolia’s cultural variety is so rich that we can see great cultural differences even in areas geographically quite close to each other.
5. The Concept of Traditional Music: This is generally music that is created in a common manner, has continued from the time of its production right down to the present day, is popular and frequently played and recited in its region and by local people, and is usually anonymous.
6. These are forms of music created by people settled in one particular location, played or recited with great affection, which have become the joint creation of the people of the area in question, and which have been passed down and kept alive down to the present day. Such music bears the traces of local cultures, and the names of the composers are generallyunknown
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10. DeryaTürkankemençe DeryaTürkan is a young master of classical Turkish kemenche. He plays improvisational as well as the Ottoman classical music repertoire.
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12. Tanbur player NecdetYasaris a living master of Turkish Classical music and was recently honored as a Distinguished National Artist. Considered one of the finest instrumentalists in Turkish music in the second half of this century, he is a virtuoso on the tanbur (a long necked string instrument).
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14. ERKAN OĞUR He was immersed with fretless guitar, an instrument that he built. Following years, he became more focused on playing the fretless guitar, and especially makams on it and he is now considered to be the strongest exponent of this instrument. Without frets, the guitar became capable of producing the complex untempered scales of folk melodies.
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16. NEY The ney is the principal wind instrument in Turkish classical music. The term is derived from the Persian nay, "reed." There are seven finger holes, six on the front of the instrument, and one on the back
17. The lowest tones are called the "dem" (breath) tones. The semitones unique to classical Turkish music are achieved by opening some of the holes either half or one fourth of the way. Other semitones are achieved by a slight turn of the head.
18. KudsiErguner, one of the foremost ney masters of our times, is particularly famed for his activities helping to introduce Ottoman and Sufi music to the world with internationally acclaimed projects and recordings
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20. Decorative Turkish ArtsMARBLING The art of marbling on paper, or 'ebru' in Turkish, is a traditional decorative form employing specialmethods
21. The word 'ebru' comes from the Persian word 'ebr,' meaning 'cloud.' The word 'ebri' then evolved from this, assuming the meaning 'like a cloud' or 'cloudy,' and was assimilated into Turkish in the form 'ebru.
22. Marbling does actually give the impression of clouds. Another possible derivation of the word 'ebru' is from the Persian 'âb-rûy,' meaning 'face water.'
23. Although it is not known when and in which country the art of marbling was born, there is no doubt that it is a decorative art peculiar to Eastern countries. A number of Persian sources report that it first emerged in India.
24. It was carried from India to Persia, and from there to the Ottomans. According to other sources, the art of marbling was born in the city of Bukhara in Turkistan, finding its way to the Ottomans by way of Persia. In the West, 'ebru' is known as 'Turkish paper.'
25. How Marbling is DoneMarbling is a most enjoyable art form, although one requiring great patience. The first thing is to select suitable paper, as not all paper can be used. The paper needs to be hard-wearing and able to absorb the paint thoroughly. Masters of calligraphy in former times preferred to write on what was known as 'dressed' paper, which had had a mixture of cornstarch and egg-white rubbed over its surface. Marbling practitioners’ on the other hand preferred raw, 'undressed' paper since the 'dressed' version did not absorb paint well.
26. A large, wide, shallow and generally rectangular tray is necessary for the practice of marbling. A kind of white gum obtained from the stem of the tragacanth plant is mixed in a bowl with water in specific proportions. Different substances, such as dried orchid tubers, flax or quince seeds and kerosene may be used instead of the tragacanth gum. The mixture is left to stand for up to 12 hours and stirred occasionally. The gum eventually dissolves, and the mixture comes to take on the consistency of boza, a thick drink made of fermented millet.
27. Later on, the paint for the marbling is prepared in small cups. The paint to be used needs to be ground very finely, and should not be one of those vegetable or chemical paints that do not dissolve in water. After the paint has been dissolved in water in the little cups, two coffee spoonfuls of fresh cattle gall is added. The aim behind this procedure is to prevent the finely ground paint from sinking to the bottom and ensure that it floats on the surface.
28. The paints of various colours prepared in this manner are then spread over the boza-like mixture described earlier which has been emptied into the tray. The paint clings to the surface in small pools, which are then mixed or spread by means of a wooden stick, giving rise to surprising and fascinating designs. Specific designs can also be created according to the artist's wishes. The special paper laid over these designs is lifted to one side some 5-10 seconds later, in very much the same manner as turning the pages of a book, by holding it by two edges and being careful not to smear the paint.
29. The paper is left to dry in a suitable place, the painted side facing upwards. In this way, designs with thousands of details and colours emerge. If the artist wishes to place writing or a flower motif between these designs, he employs another method. The writing or motif is drawn or scratched onto paper. A sharp implement is used to cut them out, and these are then fixed onto the marbling paper with a thin adhesive. The paper is then laid onto the paint in the tray as described above. After the marbling design on the paper has dried, the patterns that have been thinly glued onto the paper are removed, leaving an empty space. This method was discovered by the calligraphy and marbling Master NecmeddinOkyay (1883-1976), for which reason marbling produced by that method is known as 'Necmettin Marbling.' There are several other varieties of marbling, such as 'oversize,' 'combed' and 'flowered.'
30. Marbling used to be extensively employed in bookbinding and calligraphy. On occasion, particularly interesting and attractive designs are used as pictures. Turkey has produced many great exponents of the art, such as HatipMehmedEfendi (18th century), ŞeyhSadıkEfendi (19th century) and BekirEfendi (early 20th century). Among the last great masters produced after NecmeddınOkyay, both Mustafa Düzgünman (born 1920) and NiyaziSayın (born 1927) are particularly worthy of mention.
