Folk Music

One of the things we recommend you to do when you come to Hatay is to listen to the folk music of this region. The main themes of these beautiful folk songs with inspirations from Çukurova region, Gaziantep, Kilis, Osmaniye, Aleppo and even Rumelia are threshing, harvest, nature, wedding, abundance, death and love. In addition to the 2 and 4 beat main tempos, there are also seldom used tempos and patterns in folk music.

One of the two main types of folk music is Uzun Havalar (unmetered folk songs) and the other is Maniler (chansonettes). Uzun havalar usually start in the form of a high-pitched wail and gradually descend to the moderate sound. Maniler, on the other hand, is a unique tradition that is neither sung like a poem nor a folk song, has its own unique vocalization, and preserves its popularity especially in Antakya and the surrounding villages. Both are values that anyone visiting Hatay will enjoy discovering.