Israeli saz player gives Jerusalem the sound of Turkey

JERUSALEM - NOVEMBER 28:An Israeli musician who plays Turkish folk songs on the streets of Jerusalem dreams of one day playing with famed Turkish singer-songwriter Selda Bagcan.Tom Kaplinsky, a member of the music group We Are Friends, also takes the stage at a Turkish restaurant in Jerusalem twice a week playing his saz, or baglama, a Turkish string instrument. He says he learned to play the saz on his own without any training.“From a young age I was attracted to the sounds of Middle Eastern music,” he told Anadolu Agency.“I played guitar from childhood, and later in life I discovered the oud and started playing it. Later on I discovered the saz and fell in love with it.”“What was special for me about the saz was its magical sound and also the special combination with harmony. Something that I found only in the Turkish folk music of the saz and nowhere else.”“I’ve listened to Ibrahim Tatlises since my childhood,” he added, referring to a famous Turkish singer using the Arabesk style.Kaplinsky and his group feature a wide range of Turkish songs in their sets, including Al Yazmalim, Mevlam Bir Cok Dert Vermis, Ah Yalan Dunyada, Kadifeden Kesesi, and many more."I learned how to play saz by myself through hearing it a lot in recordings of traditional music and also from several musicians on the Internet,” Kaplinsky explained. “After listening to Turkish folk music online for a long time, I just learned the instrument’s name was saz when I was 21. I bought one from a Middle Eastern music store and loved it.”Asked what reactions he gets when he plays saz on the streets, he said: “Israeli people love it. Mainly people here are really attracted to the sounds of authentic instruments from the Near East, because we’re a mix of East and West, a little bit like Turkey.” (Footage by Faiz Abu Rmeleh/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)