barefootbeach

Hi,
Does anyone have any favorite Turkish singers/groups? I'd like something contemporary that still sounds like Turkish music...love the belly dancing type rhythms, if possible. We'll be there shortly and i"d like to enjoy local music while we're there.
Thanks!

tower

Hey, the barefoot contessa rides again! Read your China TR..superb....As for Turkish folk music, etc, I have the USA resident expert for you. My youngest daughter was a professional folk dancer, dancing with the Aman Folk Ensemble here in L.A., up and down the west coast..Bora Ozok was their key guy for Turkish music and folk dancing. He's a tour operator, but I'll bet he can help you latch on to some CD's, tapes, etc. I don't know how much time you have before your Adriatic trip..but contact him..tell him Hilary Tower suggested contacting him (my daughter)..he may recall.

http://www.culturalfolktours.com/en/index.asp?lang=en

He's based on San Fran, but travels the world over. His toll free number is on his contact page..but here it is..800-935-8875. I'm sure he can tell you where to go if you're going to be in Istanbul..we try to experience folk dancing and song wherever we go..found a good spot in Cappadocia, in Urgup..Somine Restaurant, upper terrace. Saw some in Beyagolu
district of Istanbul, but don't recall the name of the place. In Bodrum at the Charm hotel there was a enjoyable, colorful show.

My overseas traveling days are over due to my wife's ailment.
But the travel bug is incurable. Hope to do some domestic solo trips, since we have such great home care.

Have fun on your trip, Contessa...I will post some scanned Turkey pics if you wish..they might familiarize you with the country..they are from both Istanbul and the Bosphorus, and another set from Cappadocia, Antalya, Lake District , Turquouise Coast, Pamukkale, Ephesus, Bodrum etc. Hope your man recovered from his hip ordeal. Bummer on a trip!

Stu..and many continuing travels to you!

otherchelebi

Our favourite group is "Yeni Turku" :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeni_T%C3%BCrk%C3%BC

They also tweet their programs :

https://twitter.com/YeniTurku

I strongly recommend the documentary, "Crossing The Bridge" :
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0459242/

There are a number of Turku bars on side streets closer to Taksim on Istiklal street, that you can try.

Also check for concerts at Getto, Babylon and similar locations at Biletix.com. and What's On.

barefootbeach

Stu, Thanks so much for your contact info...I'll be sure to check with him....also, I'm going to look into Somine Restaurant as we'll be in Urgup also. DH's hip is all better so we'll see if we can aggravate it again by too much climbing in Turkey : - ) How fun for your daughter...I love to watch folk dancing (especially belly dancing!) so hopefully we'll see some good performances.
Thanks for the kind remarks about China TR...still haven't finished Hainan Island and Hong Kong though....trip planning for this one is out prioritizing it.

otherchelebi,
Thanks for the specific recom about Yeni Turku...I will look him up on I-Tunes (sorry, I don't know how to tweet!) We actually have watched "Crossing the Bridge"...great movie! I like to watch movies before we go to get a feel for the country....unfortunately, we tried to watch "Once Upon a Time in Anatolia" but couldn't get into it...we found it extremely boring.

tower

Set One: (Set Two will follow)

https://picasaweb.google.com/stuartt...cenesOfTurkey#

tower

https://picasaweb.google.com/stuartt...nesOfIstanbul#

You're in for a most enjoyable experience, Contessa!

Stu

tower

Barefoot (so it was you who played the Ava Gardner role in the Contessa flick!) I just added some rare Turkish Lake District pix to Set One "Scenes of Turkey"..(just click back on to it and scroll to the end) It's a region not very often visited by westerners which is why we sought it out. Very scenic, laid-back, great change of pace from the more popular tourist sites. From there it's a very pretty drive south to Antalya through the Taurus Mountains, through rose country.

Stu (OC , take a look...I'm sure you've been there while hiding out from the Po-lice).

barefootbeach

As always Stu, your photos show that you had wonderful times! Can't wait to see those Fairy chimneys!