Istanbul cymbals keep Ottoman-era craft alive

Istanbul cymbal makers are preserving a centuries-old craft that turned a sound once linked to Ottoman military bands into a prized part of global music.

In workshops on the city's outskirts, craftsmen still hammer bronze discs by hand to make cymbals valued by jazz drummers for their individual sound.

Cymbals were first used by Ottoman military “mehter” bands, while a 17th-century Armenian alchemist, Avedis Zildjian, is credited in the account with developing an alloy and metal treatment that made them less fragile. He won approval in 1623 from an Ottoman sultan to set up a workshop.

Ethnomusicologist Audrey Wozniak, who specialises in Turkish musical traditions, said making a cymbal that could withstand repeated use without becoming brittle was “quite an achievement.”

The original Zildjian operation later moved from Istanbul to the United States, but other makers trained in the tradition continued in the city. Today, a handful of Istanbul brands still produce hand-hammered bronze cymbals.

Mehmet Ozturk of Bosphorus Cymbals said the company makes “100-percent handmade cymbals” with traditional methods and that casting one can take up to a week.

Master cymbalsmith Hasan Seker said each stage affects the final sound. He said the makers use copper, tin and a small amount of a secret ingredient, and that no hammer blow is random.

Drummer Derin Bayhan said he uses Istanbul-made cymbals because each one sounds different. Jazz historian Berk Ozler said jazz musicians value that uniqueness, in contrast with mass production.