As you may know I'm currently living in a dormitory in Velenjak, an upper-class district in Tehran's fancy North. There is always a cool wind coming from the impressive Alborz mountains, which are basically right in front of my balcony. I'm sure you can imagine how beautiful the view from my balcony is. :)
Across the street there are several nice restaurants that serve traditional Iranian food (ghazaha-ye sanati). You can get some really good Kebab down there. The food is a bit more expensive but believe me, it's worth to pay more. In the evenings these restaurants become really full and you can hear music and laughter coming from there. In the weekends these places are getting even more crowded and the already busy "Boulevard-e Daneshjoo" (Students Boulevard) turns into a highway where young Iranians driving up the hill to "Bam-e Tehran", a very nice viewpoint at the foot of Mt. Tochal.
A couple of days ago, I was sitting on my balcony enjoying the beautiful sunset. Suddenly I heard some very familiar vibes:
"Mavi Mavi masmaviiiii,
Gözleri boncuk mavi
Bir gördüm aşık oldum
Şu gelen kimin yariii..."
It was a very famous song of Ibrahim Tatlıses, better known as "Ibo", one of Turkey's most popular pop-folk singers. Down there someone was listening to Ibo. And apparently he liked it very much because you could hear this catchy tune literally everywhere.
I was amazed. I went out on my balcony hoping to figure out where exactly the music was coming from. I was standing there for several minutes, listening to a song I hadn't listened to in years and smiling all over my face. "What a strange feeling, I'm listening to Turkish pop-folk in Velenjak" I said to myself. :)
On another occasion I was waiting with two friends for my Bus to Mt. Damawand. It was a hot day and I went into a small shop (Baghalli) to buy some water. Once again a noticed a very familiar melody. This time however it was not Ibo but Ahmet Kaya, also a highly popular singer in Turkey who died in 2000. I have to admit that I'm a big fan of Ahmet Kaya. I know his songs very well and recognized the song immediately. It was "Şafak Türküsü", one of his best songs. A guy was sitting in the corner, listening to this very melancholic song. I went there and told him in Turkish that he has a good taste. He looked at me and said "Chiiii?" (What???). Caught by surprise I switched to my terrible Farsi whereupon another guy said that the guy who was listening to Ahmet Kaya is a Kurd and does not speak any Turkish. He begged me to translate the lyrics, an impossible task for me regarding my poor Farsi skills. :(
I wished him a good day and went to my bus realizing once again how popular Turkey is in Iran.
I knew before that Turkish pop-culture was very popular in here. Not only music but also TV shows like "Hurrem Sultan" (better known in Turkey as Muhteşem Yüzyıl), "Kuzey-Güney" or "Lale Devri". These television dramas are very popular in Turkey and in recent years they, and also many other TV shows, have become Turkey's export hit. There is a huge demand for these TV formats in the Middle East. Sometimes they are subtitled, sometimes synchronized, but in Iran people are usually watching them via satellite TV in original language.
If you know Iran, you will also know that there is a huge Azeri minority. Cities like Tabriz, Urmia, Ardabil or Qazvin, mainly located in Iran's North-West, are also known as Azeri cities. It is not surprising that Azeris have an affection for Turkey. But it is not limited to them.
You can find a lot of ethnic Persians able to speak Turkish properly (unfortunately in Turkey this is not the case). They learn it through daily interaction with their Azeri friends, colleagues or neighbors, through satellite TV but also through visiting Turkey intensively. Iranians do not need a Visa for Turkey. According to a report prepared by the Turkish Statistical Institute, almost 1.2 million Iranians visited Turkey in 2012 (Alltogether 31 790 000 Tourists visited Turkey in 2012). In other words, Iranians are among the top ten nations visiting Turkey.
As you can see there is a huge interest for Turkey in Iran. Whenever I speak to Iranians and tell them that I'm of Turkish origin they show me so much love and respect. Turkey is popular here and I think Turkey should use its soft-power in Iran to strengthen relations with its neighbor. The last thing Turkey's government would have to fear concerning a more constructive approach, is public resistance in Iran.
No surprises actually for me, these nations have a lot in common. Enjoyed reading btw
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