A historical and analytical overview of urban music traditions in Diyarbakır-Elazığ-Şanlıurfa

The cities of Diyarbekir, Harput and Urfa, with their known names in history, have been the important centers of Anatolia and Upper Mesopotamia in terms of makam music. Existing examples of these urban musical traditions contain interesting similarities and differences as to many musical variables. On the other hand, these urban traditions have a local musical terminology. In the first part of the study, the historical background of local music and its terminology are explained. In the second part, the descriptions of the makams Beşiri, İbrahimi, Kürdi, Muhalif and Nevruz, which are ommonly used in the region, within the historical theoretical sources were investigated. The samples of these makams from Diyarbekir were analyzed using the melodic nuclei method. Along with the examples of the forementioned makams in Harput and Urfa, analytical information on the use of these makams in surrounding geographies such as Azerbaijan, Iran and Iraq has been presented.As a result, it has been observed that the local makam structures in the cities subject to the study are highly consistent with historical sources and surrounding geographies. In addition, it has been determined that a multi-layered maqam perception peculiar to the region and the musical genres built on this structure posess similar characteristics with the practices of akam music in neighboring geographies.