Masters and Apprentices Share the Same Stage

Bornova Municipality brought together leading representatives of the traditional Turkish minstrel art at the “Legacy of the Saz” event. Emphasizing the importance of preserving cultural values, Bornova Mayor Ömer Eşki expressed his pride in passing this tradition on to future generations.

Bornova Municipality celebrated one of Anatolia’s oldest cultural heritages, the tradition of aşıklık (Turkish minstrel poetry and music), with a remarkable gathering. Organized in collaboration with the Anatolian Minstrels Association, “The Legacy of the Saz: A Master and Apprentice Gathering in the Minstrel Tradition” offered art lovers in Bornova an unforgettable evening.

Held at the Civil Society Organizations Campus of Altındağ Atatürk Cultural Center, the event brought master minstrels and young apprentices together on the same stage, where they played their traditional stringed instruments and carried the tradition of oral poetry into the future.

A Centuries-Old Tradition Meets Future Generations

The event featured prominent representatives of the tradition, including Turgut Yılmaz, Osman Feryadı, Feyzi Önder, Serdar Çelik, Bedri Sinan Boz, Mesut Baykurt, Köksal Topçu, Ensar İpek, Ali Canani, and Ender Bal.

The musical exchanges between masters and apprentices, their heroic folk ballads known as koçaklama, and their performances of traditional folk songs received enthusiastic applause from the audience filling the hall.

Mayor Eşki: “Preserving Our Cultural Heritage Is Our Greatest Responsibility”

Bornova Mayor Ömer Eşki stated that Bornova is moving confidently toward becoming a center of culture and the arts.

Mayor Eşki said:

“The tradition of aşıklık is one of the purest and most heartfelt voices of these lands. We are honored to welcome to Bornova the minstrels who have carried Anatolia’s oral history, love, sorrow, and wisdom into the present through their instruments and words.

As Bornova Municipality, we will always support efforts to preserve this deep-rooted heritage, ensuring that it is never forgotten and that it is passed on to younger generations through the master-apprentice tradition. We will continue to safeguard the legacy of the saz and the spoken word and keep our cultural values alive.”