DEUTSCH TÜRKÇE ENGLISH

A musical Contest
Fairy Tales passed on by word of mouth
from Uchisar in Cappadocia


A musical Contest

It was a hot sunny day in Uçhisar as Musali sat lazing in the shadow of a fairy chimney. Once in a while, the musician played a fine melody on his Saz. He plucked the strings of the instrument so easily and his eyes were always closed. When somebody touched his shoulder, he looked up and smiled: “Başaran! Nice to see you!” he said, and with an inviting gesture asked the man to sit down.

Musali from Uçhisar and Refik Başaran from Ürgüp were friends. Both men were very well known for their talent, playing the traditional string instrument, the Saz. Often they met to just sit down and play one song followed by the other but what seemed to be only pleasure was actually always a small competition fought out between them.The villagers enjoyed their musical dispute but if asked who was best, they would not be able to decide.

That day again, leaning against the cool rock, the musicians played their favourite songs, some together, some one after the other. The people passing smiled, well aware, that soon a discussion would start. And so it is what happened.“Refik,“ Musali started. “What do you think if we would organise a competition? We will ask the people of Uçhisar and Ürgüp to fairly judge our playing.”Refik Başaran shook his head and with a smile he said: “Well, if you want to be proved being second, why not? For me it is clear that I am best. And I can prove this straight away.” He put his hand into his bag and took out a couple of papers, all sheets of music.
“This is the clear evidence!” he said, waving the pages around. The Uçhisarlı was surprised and looked at the notes with wide opened eyes.
“And,” Refik Başaran from Ürgüp went on, “I am able to play all the songs from notes!”Musali scornfully looked at the pages, shook his had and with a smile he answered: “That does not prove anything! My mother could do so, if she had notes! You might need sheets of music to play, but as for me, I can play with closed eyes!”Then he grabbed his Saz and started to play, smiling with satisfaction about the outcome of the competition.

We still do not know, who was the better musician. Nevertheless, the logic of Musali was of a very special kind.

The Love Song

Still tired from his stroll from Ürgüp to Uçhisar, Refik Başaran was sitting in the sun. With eyes closed he was playing the saz. Enticing the sweetest sounds from this instrument, his thoughts wandered off and he entirely surrendered to the music. It was a sad melody, wistful music without words.

When a gentle breeze touched his face, he looked up and saw her. He saw Şerif. Her dark eyes looked soft when she glanced fleetingly at him.He knew about the young girl’s fate, but now, since he had seen her, he could not believe that she would ever be able love the much older man she was betrothed to.As if inspired by magic he suddenly started playing again. As if in a dream, the song's melody and words came easily to him.

He sang what he would have never said, expressing his feeling as if shouting out: “Take me, not him.”His fingers deftly stroke the chords, but it seemed as if the music played itself, the music of the “Mysterious Saz”. 

Şerif married the older man…

Today, many years after the death of Refik Başaran of Ürgüp, this song is still sung in Uçhisar and sometimes Şerif's children and grandchildren join in.