BAĞLAMA(BINDING)
The bağlama (Turkish: bağlama, from bağlamak, "to tie", pronounced [baːɫaˈma]) is a stringed musical
instrument shared by various cultures in the EasternMediterranean, Near East, and Central Asia regions.
It is sometimes referred to as the saz (from the Persian ,سازmeaning a kit or set), although the term "saz" actually
refers to a family of plucked string instruments, long-necked lutes used in Ottoman classical music, Turkish folk
music, Azeri music, Kurdish music, Assyrian music, Armenian music, and in parts of Syria, Iraq and the Balkan
countries. Instruments resembling today's bağlama have been found in archaeological excavations of Sumerian and
Hittite mounds in Anatolia dating before Common Era, and in ancient Greek works.
According to The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "the terms "bağlama" and "saz" are used
somewhat interchangeably in Turkey. Like the Western lute and the Middle-Eastern oud, it has a deep round back,
but a much longer neck. It can be played with a plectrum or with a fingerpicking style known as şelpe.
In the music of Greece the name baglamas (Greek: μπαγλαμάς) is given to a treble bouzouki, a related instrument.
The Turkish settlement of Anatolia from the late eleventh century onward saw the introduction of a twostring Turkmen dutar, which was played in some areas of Turkey until recent times.