Çağlar Fidan, Nikos Papageorgiou, Erhan Bayram | Zaharya - 25 Ocak 1738 / Acem'in Evi

Zaharya – 25 Ocak 1738 Zaharya was a Greek musician who lived in 18th-century Istanbul and also worked in the fur trade. His name appears in an Ottoman chronicle from that period. Sırkatibi Salahi Efendi, originally from Kastoria, documented Sultan Mahmud I’s daily activities. One of his entries reads: “On Saturday, January 25, 1738, during a fasıl [a type of musical gathering] at Topkapı Palace, Zaharya from the Christian community performed his own compositions.” Acem’in Evi In the Istanbul Encyclopedia compiled by historian Resat Ekrem Kocu (1900–1975), there's an entry titled “Acem’in Evi” [The House of the Iranian], which describes a 19th-century brothel located in the Capa neighborhood of Istanbul. It was established by a man named Ibrahim, who came from Iran. The entry includes the names of the sex workers who worked there, as well as songs composed for them. One of these songs was said to be written for a woman named Kumru, as noted in the encyclopedia entry: “Yüzünü görmeyeli hayli zamandır, Acep ol Kumru civan kande nihandır?” [It’s been a long time since anyone saw her face. I wonder where that Kumru is now hiding?] Nikos Papageorgiou: Lute Erhan Bayram: Istanbul kemenche Video by Bilal Aliriza Venue: Buyuk Zarifi Apartmani / Beyoglu Istanbul Thanks to Istos Sahne