Sevda Rüzgarn

Karadeniz türküleri are traditional folk songs from Türkiye’s Black Sea coast, especially the eastern provinces of Trabzon, Rize, Giresun, and Artvin. They are distinguished by driving dance rhythms (notably for the horon), odd meters such as 7/16, 5/8, and 9/8, and a bright, agile vocal style rich in ornamentation. Core timbres come from the Black Sea kemençe (a bowed lyra) and the tulum (a local bagpipe), often joined by bağlama/cura, koltuk davulu or davul–zurna, and frame drums. Melodically they are modal (makam-informed), with drones and microtonal inflections that reflect both Turkish folk and older Pontic/Caucasian layers. Lyrically, songs celebrate seafaring life, mountain villages, love and courtship, migration, teasing humor, and local identity. While most are in Turkish, regional languages such as Lazuri and Hemşince (and historically, Romeika/Pontic Greek) appear in the tradition, underscoring the region’s cultural mosaic.