The Master Musicians of Urfa

Mukim Tahir
24" x 12"
oil on wood, 2012

Three master musicians of Urfa are recognized as such on a CD with that title. Urfu is a place in Turkey near the Syrian border. Kel Hamza, Mukim Tahir, and Bekçi Bekir, are the names of the three. I have one song of each—from the site Bodega Pop, where I found this CD reviewed—and all three songs are just beautiful, they all may end up in the Top 100 this year. (Bodega Pop offers a full download of the CD but I never download a whole CD. I usually take the sample from a site, if anything. I would end up with tens of thousands of songs on my iTunes playlist if I would download everything I like. I just don't see the point of doing this. If I like to listen to a certain music on my computer I go to the source rather than to try to have the digital map of it. Sure, I collect music, but what I collect are material items, purchased in a store. I would buy that CD Three Master Musicians of Urfa if I'd found it for sale for under $10.) Mukim Tahir is the first one from the three to secure a place in the Top 100 2012, therefor the first to paint. Mukim Tahir lived a tragic life. He was in prison 10 years, his wife died of TB, he was an alcoholic out of prison, and he died in 1946 in his mid 40s. He is still remembered today as one of the all-time great Urfali singers (info from Bodega Pop).

Little by little I learn about these musicians that are out there in all those pockets of the world. One by one I come across these legendary singers that have given a voice to regions of the earth that endures through times. One region at the time I become acquainted with the world's political map. Urfu would be another place in the world I like to visit (but maybe not just yet at this time).