Âşık Veysel

Âşık Veysel (Turkish: [aːˈʃɯk vejˈsæl]; born Veysel Şatıroğlu (Turkish: [ʃaːˈtɯɾ.oːɫu]); 25 October 1894 – 21 March 1973) was a Turkish Alevi ashik, bağlama virtuoso, and folk poet. He was born and died in the village of Sivrialan, Sivas Province, in the Ottoman Empire (later Turkey). Blind since the age of 7, Veysel's songs were typically melancholic, and dealt with a range of themes revolving around morality, love, faith, life and death, patriotism, nature, and his own perception of the world as a blind man.

Veysel is considered one of the most prominent icons of Turkish folk music and literature. Among his most popular folk songs are Uzun İnce Bir Yoldayım (Turkish: I'm on a Long and Narrow Road); "Black Earth" (Kara Toprak); "Let My Friends Remember Me" (Dostlar Beni Hatırlasın) and "Your Beauty is Worth Nothing" (Güzelliğin On Para Etmez). In 2022, Veysel was posthumously awarded a Presidential Culture and Arts Grand Award by the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in the "loyalty" category. In 2023, on the 50th anniversary of his death, Veysel was recommended to UNESCO for a year of commemoration, backed by Turkey, Azerbaijan, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, North Macedonia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. His 125th birthday was commemorated in a Google Doodle on October 25, 2017.