Kemençe of the Black Sea - Berat Bayraktar | Recording Earth

On a rusty tea house terrace, set into jagged black cliffs in Trabzon, Olly records Berat Bayraktar, a Turkish kemençe player. Laning against a stone wall, instrument perched on his knee, he bows ‘Trabzon’a Bir Gemi Geldi’. An ordinarily sweet melody, Bayraktar’s rendition is somber, withdrawn and accompanied by the beating waves against the precipice. Trabzon is located on one of the historical Silk Roads and was a trade gateway to Persia and the Caucasus. It’s also home to the kemençe, a bottle-shaped string instrument with relatives in neighbouring countries and whose name in Persian literally means ‘little bow.’