Turkish PM and famous singers sing for folk bard Ertaş

İZMİR - Anadolu Agency

Neşet Ertaş’s agent, Gülsüm Sarıkaya, shares singer’s personal photo archive. Neşet Ertaş was known for interpreting musical pieces in the Abdal tradition.

Neşet Ertaş, known respectfully as a “halk ozanı” (folk bard), is being commemorated a year after his death with a number of events across the country.

An old governor’s mansion in his hometown, the Central Anatolian province of Kırşehir, has been renovated and will reopen as a museum today to celebrate the life and art of the Turkish folk music composer, singer and bağlama virtuoso. The museum will feature albums, vinyl records, posters, pictures, personal belongings and musical instruments of various traditional folk poets and singers. 

During today’s memorial events in Kırşehir, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and famous Turkish singers Orhan Gencebay, İbrahim Tatlıses, Bedia Akartürk and Ahmet Özhan will perform Ertaş’s renowned song “Gönül Dağı” on stage together. 

Ertaş died in a hospital in the Aegean province of İzmir, where he lived during the last years of his life, on Sept. 25, 2012. 

The late bard’s agent, Gülsüm Sarıkaya, said Ertaş rarely wanted to appear in glittering lights but was a very social person that could easily get along with many people. She said, she is sharing a personal photography exhibition to commemorate the bard and poet.

The singer, who was named a living human treasure, was also known for interpreting musical pieces in the Abdal tradition, following in his father’s footsteps.

As part of long-term efforts to remember the musician, a separate Neşet Ertaş Culture and Arts Center is also being constructed in Kırsehir. 

When completed, the center will include exhibition areas and concert halls to serve 250,000 people, and will provide a venue for courses, workshops and many cultural events.

The center, which will include an archaeology museum, also aims to address a wider audience and draw people into cultural and social activities.