Yalova Municipality rejects suggestion to name street after pianist Fazıl Say as he is still alive

YALOVA

The municipal council in the Marmara province of Yalova has voted to reject a suggestion to present renowned pianist Fazıl Say’s name to a street in the city, citing the fact that he is still alive.

Vefa Salman, the mayor of Yalova from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), had made the suggestion, which was discussed at the Yalova Municipal Council on Jan. 8.

“This city must become a brand. We need to make a sound with this brand and Fazıl Say is someone who has made a good sound. He is a person known across the world as a genius in his own field,” Salman said.

He referred specifically to Say’s new work “The Walking Pavilion,” which made its premiere in Yalova on Nov. 10, 2017.

“I therefore thought it would be appropriate to give the name of Fazil Say to a street here,” Salman added.

However, council spokesperson Kasım Avar from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) said giving a street the name of somebody who is alive was “against procedures.”

“As the people of Yalova, we thank the pianist and composer Mr. Fazıl Say for his performance of ‘The Moving Pavilion.’ But he is a living person. The naming commission of the municipal council has a principle of not giving the names of living people to streets. I hope we can make such an evaluation after his death,” he said.

The proposal brought forward by Salman was ultimately rejected by a large majority in the municipal council vote.