Don't have the faintest idea about what it is called. These percussionists are famed for turning everything that sounds when banged on it into an instrument. It might be either like that or maybe it is indeed an ancient drum used by the Ottomans.

Oh beggar, if you ever go to Amasya
Bring me back the greetings of my sheikh
If you see there the Lord of the Good Hamdulla
Bring me back the greetings of my sheikh

His yearning in my heart I so desperately sigh
I do not know if I'll ever see my beautiful sheikh
You the bearer of the secrets of all these lovers
Bring me back the greetings of my sheikh

I am captivated by a love so insane
I cried so much so as to flood the Earth
Who would wish to leave one's own soul mate
Bring me back the greetings of my sheikh

T'was twelve fourty four right then
When I saw him in the mass of the forty sacred men
He was but a young bud in prophet's bosom
Bring me back the greetings of my sheikh

My dervish says go to friend's house
May the Honey Sultan be your guide
For thy master is so bereft in Amasya
Bring me back the greetings of my sheikh


(Couldn't get the rhymes right yet)
P.S. This is an Alevite poem.

Even if this poem is translated into English it will be full of incomprehensible names, symbols and concepts. I might like to give it a try when I have ample time.

No, you are not provocative enough catwoman. You need to find something more insulting to start a new fight.

BBC Article :

"Unique blend

Born into a poor family in western Turkey as Arkin Ilicali, Dede now divides his time between Istanbul and Montreal.

He first travelled to Canada to study visual arts and developed a following there as DJ Arkin Allen before creating Mercan Dede more than a decade ago. "


There are some errors that need to be corrected here:

Arkın Ilıcalı (Mercan Dede) was born in Bursa in 1966 (I was born in 1967 and my name is Akin Ilicali) to an upper middle class family. He had a chance to travel in Europe and get to know their cultures. By all definitions of the word his family was affluent. They lived in a better part of Bursa and were very outgoing types.

My father is skilled at playing many different instruments including ney. He had been making experiments making neys from pipes used in sanitary installations correctly drilling the holes to make them sound good. He was the one who taught him how to make his own and also assisted him with his ney playing when he developed an interest in the instrument. Presently, my father is a little bitter because he has never given him any credit for that.

In front of Arkin's house was a "tekke". As a child he played games in the street around that tekke and probably out of curiousity went in to have his first encounter with the dervishes who contemplated in there.

Arkin was an achiever, he won several tournaments as a table tennis player when he was a teenager.

In his university years in Istanbul, he was more or less a wanderer. Then he resembled Jesus Christ with his long hair and whiskers. It was very evident that he was looking for something other than what life seemed to be preparing for him. After graduating from Press and Public Relations Faculty which was next to my school, he went to Canada and made a marriage of minds with a Canadian woman. He was good at Turkish folk dances, photography and ebru (a turkish decorative art made by arranging oily dyes of various colors that float on the surface of water and by transfering them on a cardboard. you need to google that).
He made a living by teaching Canadians how to make ebru, do Turkish folk dances and by selling his photographs.

Then you know what happened.

He is my cousin. His music did not appeal to me in the beginning either. Remembering his childhood I'd hardly expect him to have become the spiritually mature man he appears to be now. He has always been criticized for his ney playing. It is generally accepted that there are much better performers of the instrument in Turkey. Nevertheless, the world seems to prefer the way he plays it. He works with some very skilled musicians and he is adept at mixing a host of musical elements to produce a unique musical sound. I would expect this sound to appeal only to foreigners who would welcome a soft fusion of sufi music with popular musical elements. We Turks have a habit of admiring what others admire in us in an unproportionate way. For example, there are thousands of Turks who don't have the first idea about classical music yet they seem to like it when Fazil Say plays it. That's another proof that Turks are crazy about being admired. Having said this, I wish the shortcomings of some other cultures were as benign as this little flaw.

Sehnaz Longa performed by Selim Sesler:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUloCsXtChU&mode=related&search=

Here is a longa taken from the film : Crossing the Bridge


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYXNeqU5uEE&mode=related&search=

Glad you liked that one. Here is a kocekce:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK96hVhHPY0

followed by a sad Turkish turku. The turku featured after the kocekce part is a lament for the thousands of soldiers who went to fihgt on Yemen front and never returned home. That one is also followed by short passages from various old Turkish songs.

There is a class of musical genres in Turkish music meant to entertain people and urge them to dance. These are kocekce, sirto and oyun havasi. Here is a a youtube link of a clip featuring two prominent Turkish musicians playing a sirto called "Sultan-i Yegah Sirto".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKXbsfV4djg&mode=related&search=

If you like this one I can add more such links.