Why Turkey?

That seems to be the first question that everyone wants answered when I tell them where I'm going. My attraction to Turkey is probably influenced by romanticized notions of the Middle East, baklava, Turkish coffee.... Nevertheless, I think my decision was most impacted by my lifelong exposure to the country's folk music and dance. Back in my parents' hippie days they fell in love with folk music from the Balkans--Bulgaria, Macedonia, Greece, Armenia, as well as Turkey. So at the age of 8 while my friends spent their summers at swim camp or soccer camp, I spent mine at... Balkan camp. That's right. I leaned how to be a Balkan person. Just kidding. Well, not kidding about the Balkan camp. It was great. Spend all day learning traditional instruments and voice techniques, all night doing traditional dances. There was some hard-core partying, old-school Eastern European style. Even though I haven't been back at the camp for several years, the music is still stuck in my head. I know it seems like I'm all about the Usher and Lil' Jon, but there's no replacement for a bagpipe made out of an inside-out goat. The frustrating thing for me is that the sound of Balkan music is so different from what most people in my community are used to (no joke, inside-out goat) that it's often difficult for my friends to enjoy it. Even though I understand that, I would love to find some people my age who could go dumb to a prado with me. I have no idea how Turkish college students view their folk traditions. I'm hoping not in the same way as my friends view clogging (which, by the way is actually fantastic), because I have every intention of immersing myself in music and dance while I'm there.

For those of you who have never heard Turkish folk music:

For those of you who couldn't make it through the last one:

For the rest of you: