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From the saz to the heart: Türkiye’s minstrels meet at OMU

Tolga Ece Topatay 13 May 2026, Wednesday - 16:09 Updated: 13 May 2026, Wednesday - 16:09
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The festival titled “Türkiye’s Minstrels at OMU: From the Strings of the Saz, from the Language of the Heart,” organized by the Turkish Literature and Poetry Research Society at Ondokuz Mayıs University (OMU), brought together folk minstrels from different cities at the university.

The festival, held at the Atatürk Congress and Culture Center (AKM) Blue Hall, was attended by İlkadım Mayor İhsan Kurnaz, Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences Prof. Dr. Ebül Muhsin Doğan, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Prof. Dr. Vedat Keleş, as well as many academics, students, and art lovers.

Organized with the contributions of İlkadım Municipality, the festival featured performances by Âşık (Minstrel) Poyrazoğlu from Van, Âşık Turabi, Âşık Eminoğlu and Âşık Rahim Sağlam from Erzurum, Âşık Kul Nuri from Gümüşhane, Âşık Süphani from Bayburt, and Âşık Obalı and Âşık Yavuz from Samsun, who took the stage and displayed their skills.

Prof. Dr. Bekir Şişman: “We are happy to host our esteemed minstrels”

Prof. Dr. Bekir Şişman, Academic Advisor of the Turkish Literature and Poetry Research Society, delivered the opening speech of the festival and emphasized the importance of the minstrel (Âşık) tradition:

“The minstrel tradition is a profound accumulation acquired throughout history either through a master-apprentice relationship or through the influence of mystical dreams such as ‘drinking the bade.’ This accumulation is transferred to future generations by becoming the subject of academic studies. Today, we are happy to host our esteemed minstrels who have come from a wide geography extending from Erzurum to Gümüşhane, from Bayburt to Samsun. We must not forget that we cannot preserve this unique treasure, which was included in UNESCO’s ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’ list in 2009, merely by keeping it on library shelves or in academic theses. Truly preserving this heritage is only possible by bringing it to the stage, keeping it alive, reviving it, and actively practicing it within life.”

İhsan Kurnaz: “We are ready to provide unlimited support to all kinds of projects”

İlkadım Mayor İhsan Kurnaz drew attention in his speech to the unifying power of culture over societies:

“Culture is the reason for a society’s existence. Those without culture have no roots, and those without roots have no future. I am very happy to celebrate the values inherited from history to the present together with our cultural ambassadors, minstrels, and masters. Unfortunately, I must state with sadness that today we see that we have difficulty raising our young people in a way that fully embraces their own culture and history. This situation deeply wounds us. As İlkadım Municipality, we are ready to provide unlimited support to all kinds of projects that will keep our culture, literature, and history alive. We will continue to be a stakeholder in all cultural activities to be carried out by our university.”

The festival, which attracted great interest and appreciation from participants, concluded after thank-you speeches and the presentation of plaques.