Reminiscence of Greek Asia Minor before Armenian Incident

Freep | 01/14/2016 | CharlesOconnell

[CharlesOConnell]

Afieroma - Dedication or Reminiscence - A Greek Word that Never Made It Into English

Afieroma sten Smyrne - Reminiscence of Smyrna - Videos of old Greek-Asia-Minor music

Don't pry into things a people don't discuss with outsiders. That said, Greek music is fascinating from Turkish-dominated lands before the Armenian incident. Other Greek music shows a pronounced Arabic sense, why is this? I'm not a musicologist, however, it seems indisputable that a certain vocal tendency in women's singing among the descendants of the former Asia-Minor, Greek lands, centered perhaps around Smyrna, uses a kind of high, warbling, expressive vocal sound, like a cross between ululation and yodeling, that is also heard in more traditional Turkish music. It is estimated that over 90 percent of the populations of certain areas in Turkish Anatolia are Greek-descended. Traditional Christian iconography accurately shows an ethnic type with prominent, high foreheads.

[CharlesOConnell]

[T-Bone Texan]

I do not trust that man.

He seems greasy to me.

And arrogant, which I guess is partially deserved.

[Fiji Hill]

This tune, popular for decades in Greece and among the Greek diaspora seems to reflect an Arabic influence. It's about a man, apparently Greek, who falls in love with an Egyptian girl and pledges to "steal" her out of her "Arab country." In 1962, Dick Dale & the Deltones scored with a rock version of this tune.

Misirlou (Egyptian girl)--Tetos Demetriades (1927)

[Hawthorn]

To me, a lot of Greek music sounds just like Arab music, which sounds just like Turkish music, which sounds just like Armenian music, which sounds just like the music I heard in Azerbaijan.

Ditto for the food — stuffed grape leaves, baked eggplant, shish-kabob, baklava, etc. Seems pretty much alike all the way from Greece to the Caspian Sea.

But tell a Greek that his music and food are virtually indistinguishable from the Turkish versions — and your life may be in danger!