Aπό ξένο τόπο & Üsküdar'a Gider İken - Greek & Turkish Song

Violin by Alaa M, kanun by Gökhan Saraç, vocals & arrangement by Farya Faraji. This is a reworking of an earlier arrangement I made when I first started this channel, which can be found here:    • Видео  

This is a very common song in the region of the Eastern Mediterranean, with virtually ever culture there having a version in their language. The exact origin is uncertain, and while the angry nationalists in every culture ferociously claim its theirs, as evidenced by the documentary “Whose Song is This?”, it is most likely that it was, from the very beginning, a mixture from the cultural melting pot of the late Ottoman Empire, having emerged in the 19th century.

My arrangement features an oud, kanun, violin and accordion, all shared instruments within the Greco-Turkish musical continuum.

Lyrics in Greek and translation:
Aπό ξένο τόπο κι απ' αλαργινό
ήρθ' ένα κορίτσι, φως μου, δεκαοχτώ χρονώ'.

Ούτε στην πόρτα βγαίνει ούτε στο στενό
ούτε στο παραθύρι, φως μου, δυο λόγια να της πω.

Έχει μαύρα μάτια και σγουρά μαλλιά
και στο μάγουλό του, φως μου, έχει μιαν ελιά.

Δε μου τη δανείζεις δεν μου την πουλάς
την ελίτσα που 'χεις, φως μου, και με τυραννάς.

Δε σου τη δανείζω, δεν σου την πουλώ
μόν' να τη χαρίσω θέλω σε κείνον π' αγαπώ.

From a foreign and distant place,
There came a girl, my light, 18 years old,

She doesn't come out into the door or the alley
Nor to my window, my light, to tell her a couple of words

She has black eyes and curly hair,
And on her cheek, she has a beauty spot

Won’t you lend your beauty spot to me, won’t you sell it to me?

I won’t lend it to you, I won’t sell it to you,
I want to keep it and let it torture you

Turkish lyrics and translation:
Üsküdar'a gider iken aldı da bir yağmur.
Kâtibimin setresi uzun, eteği çamur.

Kâtip uykudan uyanmış, gözleri mahmur.
Kâtip benim, ben kâtibin, el ne karışır?
Kâtibime kolalı da gömlek ne güzel yaraşır!

Üsküdar'a gider iken bir mendil buldum.
Mendilimin içine (de) lokum doldurdum.

Kâtibimi arar iken yanımda buldum.
Kâtip benim, ben kâtibin, el ne karışır?
Kâtibime kolalı da gömlek ne güzel yaraşır!

While going to Üsküdar, it began to rain
My scribe's frock coat is long, the tail of their coat is muddy

The scribe has been awoken from sleep, their eyes are bleary

The scibe is mine, I'm the scribe's, why do others interfer?
How the starched shirt fits to my scribe

While going to Üsküdar, I found a handkerfchief
I put Lokum in my handkerchief and fed it to him
While I was looking for my scribe, I found him nearby