Band keeps Ottoman military music tradition alive
TRABZON
In Trabzon, the birthplace of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, the longest-reigning sultan of the Ottoman Empire, the Kanuni Mehteran Band, founded 30 years ago under the Trabzon Metropolitan Municipality, continues to keep national and spiritual values alive with concerts at home and abroad.
Named after Sultan Suleiman’s title “Kanuni” (the Lawgiver), the band was established in 1995 under the instruction of then-Mayor Asım Aykan. Giving its first concert in 1996 during the celebrations marking the conquest of Trabzon, the band has since performed in more than 40 cities across Türkiye and in several countries, including Hungary, Germany, Ukraine, Iran, Uzbekistan and Qatar.
Erdem Zekeriya İskenderoğlu, head of the municipality’s Department of Culture and Social Affairs, told state-run Anadolu Agency that the mehter band has attracted great interest both domestically and internationally, taking part in 370 concerts this year alone.
“Mehter is known as the oldest military band in the world,” İskenderoğlu said. “It symbolized the Ottoman Empire’s power, discipline and strength and held great importance on the battlefield and in ceremonies. The Kanuni Mehteran Band is a proven ensemble that performs with true mehter spirit and continues to present its concerts in this way.”
İskenderoğlu stated that the municipality attaches great importance to the band’s activities. “We do our best to sustain one of the most important Ottoman traditions. We provide our members with all the necessary working conditions, pay attention to the quality of their uniforms and instruments, and support them in every way to express the genuine mehter spirit,” he said.
He added that since 2022, the musicians, who are municipal employees, have been working exclusively within the Kanuni Mehteran Band to produce higher-quality performances.
Ali Mahir Pak, the band’s mehterbaşı (chief musician), said he has been part of the ensemble since its foundation.
Consisting of 22 members, the band includes musicians who, according to Pak, adapt quickly thanks to their musical backgrounds. “When they join us, we can get good results after 15–20 days of training,” he said. “We used to recruit members from the military band, soldiers who had played in the army’s ensemble, but when they were discharged, we would bring them into the municipal infrastructure. Later, as higher-ranking officers formed new bands within the military, we started training our own musicians here. So far, we have been successful.”
‘There is no other war music like it in the world’
Explaining that mehter music appeals simultaneously to people’s hearts and minds, Pak said, “These are the war tunes our ancestors used for centuries. They inspired courage in our soldiers and fear in the enemy, contributing greatly to many victories. When the Ottoman army departed from Istanbul, all the mehter bands would gather in Edirne, especially the Sultan’s Mehter Band, and perform with enormous enthusiasm using kös drums made from lion hides that produced deep, thunderous sounds. That’s why there is no other war music like it in the world.”
He added that the trumpet is the band’s main instrument. “We also have zurnas that take their tone from the trumpet. The drum, even before the Turks accepted Islam, symbolized sovereignty. The kudüm imitates the sound of a horse’s hooves during battle, and when the cymbals combine with the other instruments, they create a magnificent harmony. The çevgens, our vocalists, are indispensable. They recite prayers and verses in beautiful voices, adding another layer of emotion and joy,” he said.
Halil İbrahim Topsakal, a conservatory graduate who serves as a çevgen in the band, said mehter music represents a cultural heritage inherited from the past, and their mission is to carry it forward to future generations.
He noted that the band determines its repertoire based on the purpose of each concert. “We rehearse at the Hamamizade İhsan Bey Cultural Center. Since we must be present as both a mehter and marching band during national holidays and official ceremonies, we are always ready to perform,” he said.
Another çevgen, Aydın Demir, who has been with the band for 10 years, said he once watched the ensemble with admiration and is now proud to be part of it. “I always wanted to join them, and I was lucky enough to have the opportunity. I feel honored and proud. We realize this even more when we see the public’s enthusiasm during our concerts,” he said.
