The Baglama Maker of Antalya

 

It’s Thursday and we have arrived in Antalya for just a few days. Our intention is to catch the overnight Bus to Goreme Cappadocia on Sunday. While exploring the old city, we find ourselves walking through narrow streets in the “Old Bazaar”, which are really nothing more than high priced shops selling activewear, jewelry, rugs and baklava for the tourists. Venturing a half mile outside of the old city we find the shopping districts where the locals do their business. The land of $3 slippers, $7 shirts, tailor shops, homegoods stores, cheap eats, and butchers offering goat heads. It was in one of these neighborhoods where, looking past the foliage covered storefront, I discovered an instrument maker at work.

The shop specializes in making a long necked stringed instrument called the Baglama. The Baglama, a popular instrument in traditional Turkish music, is also played throughout the Balkans, Armenia, Azerbaijan and the Kurdish regions. This afternoon in a nearby park, I chanced upon a musician playing the very same instrument.

And yes, I have a video clip to share:

https://youtu.be/xVyz-zu2E10