Dr. Çetiner’s Blogs (Dr. Beytullah Gültekin Çetiner)

Old Istanbul Song
This post gives a list of dıfferent arrangements for the very famous Turkish song from Istanbul area. I was very surprised to hear the same composition of the song when I listened to that in Malay language in my first days to Malaysia. I forgot to ask taxi driver the name of the song in Malay language. Anyway this old Istanbul Song goes back to Ottoman times. The song is famous in Turkey with different names. One name is ‘Üsküdara Giderken’ which means ‘While going to Uskudar’. Another name is ‘Katibim’ which means ‘My clerk’. Anyone who knows the Old Istanbul Song in Malay language please could you give comments.

Different Arrangements for Song
‘Uskudara Giderken’ performed by American Singer Eartha Kitt.

“Katibim” by Safiye Ayla

Esther Kaiser Trio (Üsküdara Giderken Jazz)

“Fantasy on an old Istanbul Song” Behzat Cem Gunenc
The theme in this piece is a well know Istanbul song “Katibim”.The Katibim is about 2 lovers who dream of being together. I call this piece also “Shy Lovers of Istanbul” because in the song they only look at each other’s eyes while walking and they dream about being together. They can’t take their hands or kiss at the street because of the old tradition. I will post the score to sibeliusmusic. From there you can download the orginal scores. Enjoy pls

Song while sightseeing Istanbul

Üsküdara Giderken from BURCU GÜNEŞ

Notes with A traditional Turkish Instrument Called Saz

Literal Translation of the Song
On the way to Uskudar, rain came down, it really did.
The clerk I love wears a frock coat with its long skirt muddied.
I guess he is just up from sleep: his eyes are still languid.
That clerk is mine - I am his - that’s no one else’s business.
It looks so lovely on my clerk; that frock coat with trousers (that starched shirt of his).

Going to Uskudar, I found a kerchief dropped by him.
And I filled my kerchief with Turkish delight to the brim…

Looking for that clerk of mine, I found myself right by him.

That clerk of mine - I am his - that’s no one else’s business.
It looks so lovely on my clerk: that starched shirt of his.

About Üsküdar
Üsküdar is a large and densely populated suburb of Istanbul, on the Anatolian shore of the Bosphorus right opposite the heart of the great city, next to Kadıköy. It is home to about half a million people.

History of Üsküdar (from Wikipedia)
Üsküdar (ancient Chrysopolis, mediaeval Scutari) was a city in Bithynia founded in the 7th century BC, in a valley leading down to the Bosphorus shore, by the inhabitants of the Greek colony of Khalkedon and was first known as Chrysopolis (city of Gold) (perhaps because it was a wealthy little port, or because of the way it shone when viewed from Byzantium at sunset). The city was used as a harbour and shipyard and was an important staging post in the wars between the Greeks and Persians. In 410 BC Chrysopolis was walled by the Athenian general Alcibiades. As its larger and more important neighbor across the Bosphorus grew, the town became a toll-booth for the Bosphorus and later became the first point of defence of Byzantium against the Ottoman armies. Byzantine armies were stationed here, but to no avail; by the time Constantinople was conquered by the Ottomans (in 1453) Üsküdar had already been in Turkish hands for 100 years.

In the Ottoman period Üsküdar was one of the three communities outside the city walls (along with Eyüp and Galata). The area was a major burial ground, and today many large cemeteries remain including Karacaahmet Mezarlığı, Bülbülderesi Mezarlığı, and a number of Jewish and Christian cemeteries. Karacaahmet Mezarlığı is one of Istanbul’s largest cemeteries. Bülbülderesi Mezarlığı is said to be the favoured burial place of the Sabetay community, including the educator Şemsi Efendi; this cemetery is next to Fevziye Hatun mosque, also said to be a centre of Sabetay culture.