Photo by Author

Photo by Author

The Earthquakes (in Kahramanmaras and Elbistan, Turkey) February 6…
They took a huge piece from all of us. But the piece they took from him was something entirely different.
Most of us wouldn’t be the same again, but he would never be the same.
Even if the earthquake hadn’t happened, he probably would have retired from music in five, maybe ten years at most. His voice, misted over from years of singing those beautiful songs with powerful and high tones, filling his lungs with every breath, the haze in his throat, his distant gaze, and the way he said, “I’ve been a rocker for 40 years, and I’m still adjusting my pants,” all made it clear.

Listen as you read:

This is the official music video, taken from the YouTube channel of the studio he’s partnered with.

Neşet Ertaş, Kazım Koyuncu, Barış Manço, Pavarotti, Cem Karaca, Freddie Mercury, Fikret Kızılok, Sezen Aksu, Ahmet Kaya, Müslüm Gürses, Şebnem Ferah, Arif Sağ, Zülfü Livaneli, Nurettin Rençber… He was one of the artists I was crazy about seeing and listening to live before they passed away or retired from music. The fact that the first name that comes to mind when you think of rock music in Turkey founded Ahbap, starred in a cryptocurrency exchange commercial and donated the proceeds to students, the story of “Elfida,” and the countless other good deeds he’s done that we’ve heard about, all made me respect and love him even more.

October 3, 2021 Concert

Finally, we had the honor of listening to this great man live at Kuruçeşme. Not just him, though — I can’t forget to mention the orchestra, so expert in their instruments that Haluk Abi praised them, saying, “They’re used to the songs we’ve never rehearsed and my improvisations.” Especially my favorites: Göktuğ Şenkal on electric guitar, Elvan Kızılay and Feray Tekşahin playing the violin with all their hearts, Mert Alkaya on drums, Burak Kulaksızoğlu on bass guitar, Aslıhan Parlak, who tugged at our hearts with her cello, and Erdi Arslan on all wind instruments (I ran into him as we were leaving the concert and congratulated him).

Image by author

Image by author

The weather was rainy. The rain was falling lightly, and with each drop, it soaked into us more without us even realizing it. In the photo above, which you can hardly see, we defied the delicate protocol and stayed until the end of the concert. Of course, it was very enjoyable. There were many people behind us. Haluk Abi was quite surprised that, despite getting soaked, none of these people left the concert area, stubbornly challenging the rain. We couldn’t focus too much on the concert because of the rain. Haluk Abi was mingling with the audience as usual — at one point, he even passed right in front of us, but we still couldn’t get a photo with him. Since no one jumped in front of him to take a photo, we pretended to be elite and kept sitting.

The concert was too good. We already knew many of his songs and sang along with him. It felt like a taste of honey was left in our mouths, and we were left wanting more of this wonderful night. As a fan of opera metal, I didn’t expect to enjoy this concert so much. By the time we left, despite being soaked, my thoughts had completely changed. My spouse and I promised to attend his next concert.

June 3, 2022 Concert

It was either January or February. When Haluk Abi’s new concert date was announced, I immediately accepted Nare’s offer to buy tickets. “Let’s also get some T-shirts, put on some eyeliner, and dress in a way that suits a rock concert,” she said. “Okay,” I replied, but to be honest, I never expected her to suggest going to a concert wearing a T-shirt with Haluk Levent’s photo on it. We searched for printed T-shirts but couldn’t find any. So we decided to find a photo and print it ourselves. We searched for a high-quality, old photo of him that was suitable for printing and finally found one to get the T-shirts made.

Image by Author

Image by Author

Despite Nare coming up with the idea of wearing T-shirts with Haluk Levent’s photo, choosing the photo for the design, and even contacting the company that made the T-shirts, she still made a bunch of silly predictions that all our efforts would go to waste and that Haluk Levent would definitely not notice us. But I said, “He’s a people’s artist; he’ll definitely come down from the stage, and when he walks among the crowd, he’ll see our T-shirts.” (Well, I wasn’t just going to sit in my seat and sulk, hoping he’d notice us. I didn’t plan on jumping in front of him — after all, we are elite — but I’d find a way to show him our T-shirts.)

This time the weather was beautiful, and we were in the VIP section. The stage was only 3–4 meters away from us. The musicians I mentioned earlier, especially my favorites Göktuğ and Elvan, took their places. The concert started with a bang. Despite his age, Haluk Abi’s energy was very high — though not as high as ours. It was good that we were in the VIP section; we left the poor middle class (!) behind us and stood up, enthusiastically joining in the songs.

Turns out I knew all his songs by heart — even the ones about breakups and longing for an ex. By the way, I occasionally glanced sideways at Nare, wondering if she’d have an issue with the ex-girlfriend songs. (When we met, she already knew that I had erased the names of everyone who had been in my life before her from my heart due to GDPR and that I kept my past mistakes and successes in my mind anonymously for the sake of experience.) Of course, there were no issues.

Our Madness

As the concert progressed, the moment I had been waiting for finally arrived. When the cello began playing “Anlasana” in its deep tone, in respectful silence of the other instruments, under the cool breeze by the sea in Kuruçeşme, its deep resonance filled the air. Each note surfaced the sorrows in our hearts and etched into our souls. The deep tone of the cello expressed emotions while inviting listeners to a silent inner journey. You know, “Anlasana” is a song rich in artistic expression that, when combined with Haluk Abi’s powerful vocals and heartfelt interpretation, offers a deeply emotional experience. Let’s take a closer look at the artistic elements in “Anlasana”:

Elfida must have ended. Taken from his own YouTube channel.

1. Contrast: The conflicting emotions within the person in the song enhance the song’s emotional depth.

2. Allegory: The expression “Anlasana” (Understand me) isn’t just addressed to the other person; it’s also an internal cry, an attempt at acceptance.

3. Interior Monologue: The song progresses like a monologue within the person’s own mind. The listener witnesses the narrator’s thoughts and emotions through the lyrics. This internal conversation draws the listener further into the song’s atmosphere.

4. Emotional Crescendo: The song starts slowly and continues with increasing emotional intensity, allowing the listener to embark on an emotional journey. The progression of the melody and lyrics this way enhances the impact on the listener.

5. Emphatic Expression: Certain words and phrases in the song are repeated for emphasis. This reinforces the song’s core message and leaves a deep impression on the listener. The phrase “Anlasana” is repeated several times, intensifying the narrator’s desperation and longing.

6. Use of Metaphor: Some expressions in the song are used metaphorically rather than carrying a direct meaning. This increases the artistic value of the song and encourages the listener to think about and explore the deeper meaning behind the lyrics.

Additionally, whenever this song is mentioned, I always point out in social settings that the vocalist is Şebnem Ferah, just to boost my reputation. These are the things I noticed. If you have anything to add, feel free to share it in the comments. After all, this is a great song, and there might be literary devices I’ve overlooked.

Image by Author

Image by Author

We were sitting right in the middle of the VIP section, slightly towards the back. It was the best spot acoustically for listening to the concert. When the cello started, Haluk Abi came down from the stage. He was going to pass through the gaps, and there was no way he could pass by us. I immediately grabbed Nare’s hand and said, “Come with me.” “What are you doing, Alp? Stop, this is not okay!” I told her to keep walking, and we moved to another spot in one of the aisles where Haluk Abi would pass right in front of us and see us. Nare was frozen with shock, not even aware of what was happening.

As Haluk Abi approached, I practically tore myself apart trying to show him our T-shirts, saying, “Abi, look at the T-shirt! We got you printed on it! Abi, my wife has the same T-shirt, look!” Nare was in a daze, not knowing what to do, but I had achieved the effect I wanted. Of course, Haluk Abi didn’t hear us, but he noticed, called us over, and immediately signaled his assistant Yasin to take a photo. He took the photo, and that’s how the cover photo came about.

Later, to our surprise, we discovered through a TikTok video sent by a friend that all these moments were captured by one of the concert-goers. Those special, precious moments were immortalized for us by chance in a video. I think my actions clearly show how excited I was and that I didn’t know what to do. You must check the comments on the original video. People praised us so much!

“This is Haluk Abi’s crowd.”
“No one’s jumping in front.”
“The guy had T-shirts printed and is still waiting to be noticed.”…

Haluk Abi had the photo taken with Yasin’s phone, not ours. You can see in the video how he used body language to tell me to lower my hand and said, “Look there,” and how I was left standing like a fool. After the photo was taken, he also signaled me to get it from him. I said, “Okay.” At that moment, we had no choice but to step aside and sit down. We had already been elite enough to disrupt the concert long enough(!). I had to remember Yasin to find him later. For the first and last time in my life, I stared at a man’s face for so long, trying to memorize it.

I can’t explain how happy we were:

  • The concert was incredible.

  • Listening to the violin and cello at a rock concert was already amazing for someone like me, who loves gothic metal, opera metal, and folk metal.

  • We had a beautiful, high-quality, very cool photo with the great Haluk Levent.

  • Nare and I had so much fun and had one of the best days of our lives, but…

Even though we thought it was over, the day wasn’t over yet(!).

He continued to walk around, showing love to the children, dancing with the elderly, leaving the stage to the cello, and embracing us all. We were mesmerized. What a humble, good artist he was. A true human being. He wandered, circled, and came back; this time, he came right next to us. Look at the photo below, see how close he was to us and how sweet he was:

Image by Author

Image by Author

Yasin found an opportunity, came over, and took my phone number. He sent the photo, and I showed it to Nare. A while later, after the concert ended, he told us not to leave immediately because Haluk Abi wanted to see us. This led to another surprise: We were going to meet Haluk Levent backstage! This was such a big, important moment for us!

I apologize, but I’m going to add the photo here again because it’s really good; it’s both crowded, and Haluk Abi is in it! Thank you, Yasin. Great job. :)

Image by Author

Image by Author

The concert ended. We followed Yasin, whose face I had memorized. We waited for a while backstage. Göktuğ Şenkal was complaining that the sound on his guitar was too low and was irritated. Elvan Kızılay was off in the distance, taking photos with fans and looked exhausted. The backstage area was open-air with a few containers. Haluk Abi was in one of them. He met with a few other fans before us. The disabled person he danced with was very happy…

The container door opened, and Haluk Abi asked, “Who’s left? Is there anyone else to meet?” Yasin answered, “The T-shirt people are here, Abi.” I repeated “T-shirt people” to Nare, and we laughed. “Oh, let them in,” he said. We went in. He was sitting in a small space. He laughed for a long time. Then he got up and came over to us:

“Thank you so much… but really, couldn’t you find anyone else to print on a T-shirt? I’m just a simple folk artist; a mechanic might have been more appropriate,” he said. “No way, Abi! You’re one of the kindest, most wonderful people in the world,” I replied. I was very excited too. I remember saying some other nice things, and I might have rambled a bit, but I can’t recall the sentences clearly. We had met Haluk Levent, shook his hand, and hugged him!

Nare was so excited that she forgot her phone was in video mode. Haluk Abi took the phone, and as a result, we accidentally recorded a video instead of a photo. We tried to capture a still from the video, and this is what we got:

Image by author

Image by author

We were trembling with excitement, our hands and feet didn’t fit anywhere.
I’m so glad we went, Nare!
I’m so glad we got the T-shirts printed.
I’m so glad we wore them.
I’m so glad we went to see Haluk Abi.
I’m so glad you’re here.
I’m so glad you’re with me…
I love you so much! ❤