Bob Dylan Meets Ottoman Poetry – Makber Fusion Performance (Live | Arizona - Phoenix 2025)

A unique fusion performance blending
Bob Dylan’s iconic “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”
with lines from Makber — the legendary elegy by Abdülhak Hâmid Tarhan, one of Ottoman literature’s greatest poets.

Western folk meets Ottoman classical poetry.
Two worlds, one emotional doorway.

Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door – Türkçe Uyarlama

Anne, al şu rozeti üstümden,
Artık taşıyamam ben bunu.
Karanlık çöktü, göremiyorum,
Sanki cennetin kapısında duruyorum.

Tak tak… Çalıyorum cennetin kapısını,
Tak tak… Çalıyorum cennetin kapısını,

Anne, göm silahlarımı toprağa,
Artık ateş edemem onlarla.
Uzun siyah bir bulut geliyor,
Sanki cennetin kapısında duruyorum.

Tak tak… Çalıyorum cennetin kapısını

Makber - Turkish Maqam of Rast Gazel: an Ottoman classical vocal improvisation

(These lines were written by Abdülhak Hâmid Tarhan for the grave of his beloved wife, Fatma Hanım, who passed away in Egypt. Her death and burial there inspired the elegy Makber.)

"Everywhere is dark — yet that place of yours is pure light…
O Lord, is it the land of the sunset, or the resting place of the dead?

Your grave has become a shrine adorned with flowers,
And that shrine has turned into a sacred chamber of devotion"

#bobdylan #turkishmusic #fusion #us #arizona #phoenix
#phoenixcenterforthearts #ertugrulerkisi #aslihanerkisi #fatihbayram #livemusic