Listening Across Borders Session 2: The Levant

Join the second session of Music Across Borders, a Listening Club series exploring the musical connections between Türkiye and its cultural neighbours. Moderated by musicologist and pianist Prof. Dr Mine Doğantan-Dack, this session invites participants to an intimate listening journey across the Levant and the Eastern Mediterranean, tracing shared sound worlds across Türkiye and the Arab world.

Session II — The Levant will begin with a shared iftar, creating a moment of gathering and reflection before the listening session. Following the breaking of the fast, participants will explore the defining characteristics of Arabic musical culture, including its instruments, vocal styles, and emotional and social landscapes. The session will travel through major musical centres such as Istanbul, Aleppo, Beirut, Damascus, Baghdad, and Cairo, listening across genres and traditions shaped by centuries of cultural exchange.

Along the way, participants will encounter Ottoman classical music alongside muwashshah, peşrev, qasida singing, takht ensemble textures, oud virtuosity, Bedouin melodies, Arab Christian chants, Palestinian songs, and Sufi devotional traditions. The session will also listen for echoes of shared stories — from Layla and Majnun and One Thousand and One Nights to orientalist tales such as Ali Baba and Aladdin — as they resonate through music.

Guided by Prof. Dr Mine Doğantan-Dack, the session is based on close listening and reflection, supported by visual materials such as maps, videos, and instrument guides. Through attentive listening, participants will discover how early twentieth-century musical circulation and broadcast cultures shaped modern musical exchanges, turning figures such as Zeki Müren, Umm Kulthum, and Fairuz into iconic regional voices. The session will also explore the rise of Arabeskin Türkiye as a modern musical bridge between Arabic and Turkish soundscapes, featuring pioneers such as Orhan Gencebay, Müslüm Gürses, and Neşe Karaböcek.

Session II — The Levant
Date: Friday, 27 February 2026
Time: 5:00 pm
Venue: Yunus Emre Enstitüsü – London

The evening will begin with iftar, followed by the Listening Club session.
Limited spaces available.

Explore the curated listening list and playlist for this session here:

No musical training required – open to all music lovers and curious listeners.

This session is part of a six-session Listening Club series exploring musical cultures across the Balkans, the Levant, the Aegean, Persia, the Turkic world, and the Ottoman musical sphere. For more info please click here!

For more information on the event, please email us at londra@yee.org.tr

IMPORTANT NOTES

This in-person event is open to participants aged 16 and above.

Please note that this event is first come first served and may be overbooked. To avoid disappointment, please arrive early and secure your seat. If you have registered but are unable to attend, please cancel your ticket to allow others to join. Thank you for your cooperation.

Please be advised that filming and/or photography will be taking place at the event for the purposes of archiving, marketing, and all other publications. By entering this event, you consent to the Yunus Emre Institute taking photographs and videos and using them.