Steppes, the sea and Turkey with winter and the famous folk artist Neset Ertas

Neşet Ertaş was born in Kırtıllar village in the district of Kırşehir in 1938. He went to primary school for 2 years. He learned playing violin, later saz. He played music and sang “türkü”s (folksongs) with his father Muharrem Ertaş at weddings. He has interpreted musical pieces of the Abdal tradition, following his father. In the 1950’s, Ertaş settled in Istanbul and released his first album “Neden Galip Garip Ötersin Bülbül”. H then recorded more than 30 albums and cassettes, and gave numerous concerts in Turkey. Later, he moved to Ankara, then to Germany. In 2000, Ertaş gave a concert in Istanbul, and came back to his artistic life. He received several awards including “Ahilik Art Award” (2001), "State Medal of Distinguished Service" (2006), "National Living Human Treasure Award" (2010), and an honorary doctorate from Istanbul Technical University (2011). Ertaş passed away in Izmir in 2012.