The transformation of Kars aşık tradition in the context of performance and space

When talking about the âşıklık tradition, which has a kind of historical time depth and is one of the basic components of Turkish oral culture as well, any statement about its change brings along a variety of discussions. To interpret the change, first of all, focusing on how the tradition is reproduced and transformed, out of the worrying expression such as "withering away" or "disappearing" will make it easier everyone to comprehend the relevant change easily. Because how the âşık perceive this change and how they take part in this change is directly related to the fact that the performances have been moved to scarcely every place and locations in the region where the traditional performances still continue today. The region, which hosts winter tourism with its ski tourism, historical buildings and ruins, has become a sort of 4 season tourism center after the beginning of the " Eastern Express" train services in July 2016. Because the places could not meet the need for they are relatively few in number after the arrival of a large number of visitors to the region, new places such as hotels, restaurants, cafes were opened one after another and the characteristics concerning the region were in the tour programs and started to be presented to the visitors in these places. The âşıklık tradition among the prominent elements of the region has also been reorganised within the planned tourism strategies and has begun to make appearance in nearly all places serving tourism. Along with its traditional contexts, the tradition performed in new places has changed while being exhibited to the audience who is unfamiliar with the tradition with some new ideas and designs as well. In the first part of the study, which consists of four parts, the main elements of the Kars Âşıklık Tradition within the Turkish Âşıklık Tradition are made visible, and the performance places from the past to the present are tried to be detected. In the second part, the theoretical framework of the space is drawn and the music-space characteristics are tried to be comprehended with concepts such as audience, âşık, and performance theory. In the third chapter, the function of the " âşıklık tradition in Kars ", which is a spatial product in tourism strategies, is emphasized. In the fourth part of the study, where interview-based information is as significant as the information based on written sources, there is a "new representation" of tradition with the data obtained from the field on the use of performance places and evaluations based on the theoretical framework.