Musicians & singers
Âşık Veysel
The blind bard of Sivas, whose songs every Turkish person knows.
The Turkish name
Âşık Veysel
Recording on its way.
The story
Âşık Veysel lost his sight to smallpox as a child and took up the saz, the long-necked lute. In the tradition of the wandering minstrels he composed songs about love, the land and mortality that became part of the country's common memory.
Uzun İnce Bir Yoldayım, "I am on a long, narrow road", and Kara Toprak, "black earth", are sung by pop stars and schoolchildren alike.
At a glance
- Born
- 25 October 1894, Sivrialan, Sivas
- Died
- 21 March 1973, Sivrialan
- Instrument
- Bağlama (saz)