Turkey

Turkey has fared somewhat better than its neighbor Greece in preserving its native folk and classical music. Though there was a period in the first half of the twentieth century when the republic tried to clean up and standardize folk music, its various forms persist today in all their diversity and beauty, due in part to excellent traditional music schools. Turkey is home to "ozan" (a romantic, sung poetry dating from the tenth century and sung by Ashiks), an array of wedding and festival music, and both classical and light classical music influenced by Sufism and accompanied by whirling dervishes. Western-style pop/rock is also firmly entrenched in Turkey, although it shows no signs of supplanting the country's rich folk tradition. Some of the country's leading bands, such as late 1960s rock superstars Mogollar and Apaslar, successfully mixed rock and traditional folk melodies.