The Turks are passionate about music. All music. Wherever you go, people are plugged into music , swaying to the beat and either belting out the lyrics or just mouthing the words...but everyone knows the words. They listen to American music, Turkish pop, classics, oldies, folk music, Greek, French and African...their appetite for music and dancing is an insatiable national addiction!
Friday nights are set aside for enjoyment, and couples and families all head to the city to linger over restaraunt meals, and listen to their favorite singer, band or DJ. Everyone dances...the children, the parents, the grandparents. It is a surprisingly free and festive mood that overtakes the city...and again, in contrast to the often dour countenance of the throngs of people commuting to work in overcrowded, over heated busses or the furtive glances of workers who seem uncomfortable making eye contact with their supervisors.
On Friday we went to a birthday party for our friend here. We sat in an open air restaraunt, listening to one of her favorite singers perform live under a canopy of fig trees and vines. The singer was a Russian refugee with an amazing range and eclectic tastes. Without unions or any apparent labor regulations, the entertainment went on for hours without a break, song after song, carrying us well into the night. We listeners to music that spanned at least six decades and three continents, and it seemed that everyone knew every song!
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