Tarkan shakes Istanbul

ISTANBUL - Anadolu Agency

AA photo

Turkish pop star Tarkan Tevetoğlu staged a glamorous show for more than 7,000 fans at Istanbul’s Cemil Topuzlu Open Air Theater on Aug. 26. Despite not releasing a new album for five years, the singer has almost sold out nine upcoming dates at the same Istanbul venue.

The 42-year-old star began the show with one of his hit songs, “Ölürüm Sana” (I Will Die For You), as the giant curtains slowly rolled back, revealing the musician.

The green-eyed, bearded singer was dressed in black and wearing an ornate jacket despite the sweltering weather.

“Even though it has been 23 years [since beginning to perform] I am still excited,” Tarkan told the audience. 

When the second part of his concert started after a 15-minute break, Tarkan was sitting with a six-strong group of traditional Turkish folk musicians, including Erkan Oğur, a pioneer of the fretless guitar.

The crowd sang along with folk songs such as “Leylim Ley,” “Uzun İnce Bir Yoldayım,” “Allı Turnam,” “Mihriban” and “Ah Yalan Dünya.” 

A usually apolitical singer said between songs in a rare moment of dialogue with the audience that folk music was “the essence of our culture.”

“We fell apart from each other in recent years but, in fact, our essence is one and we are all one,” he said.