Turkish Coffee opens Egypt's Spring Festival

Turks are known for hospitability greeting guests with their famous Turkish coffee, which was introduced to the Middle East during Ottoman rule. Carrying on the Turkish tradition, on 20 April, members of the Turkish Coffee group gave a friendly welcome at Taz Palace, pouring their own coffee… a mixture of harmonious melodies and rhythms. "We are to delight the audience bringing our melodies to Egypt," said Nedim Nalbantoglu, Turkish Coffee violinist. The group performed many interesting solos. As the five members, Nedim Nalbantoglu, Nuri Karadermili on oud, Barbaros Erkose on clarinet, percussionist Ismet Kizil and Volkan Kirpi on Kanun played the more the crowd grew. Turkish Coffee mixed their oriental music with Western accents and Spanish gypsy music; a great treat for the audience. The sensation of the Spring Festival 2012 opening night was Nalbantoglu on violin. "He is just extraordinary," says a member of audience. The more Nalbantoglu performed the more involved he got in the performance, going as far as jumping from his chair while playing the instrument. Unlike the rest of the band, he was the only one constantly accompanied by cheers, whistles and applause. Over the course of the two-hour show the strings of his violin kept breaking because of the intensity of his playing. Despite that, he continued tearing them off one at a time and continued playing, which was highly appreciated by audience. A few audience members shouted "Allah…again," enjoying the performance and asking for more. Encouraged, Nalbantoglu took that as an excuse (as if he needed it) to produce more music and more melodies. At this point, he wanted to give the hand to his other colleagues; however, they enjoyed it more playing next to him and not the other way round. When the audience felt that the show was coming to an end, they stood up and yelled, "More…more!" to Nalbantoglu. In response to the affectionate praise, Nalbantoglu responded: "The audience interaction with us was more than great and, indeed, we appreciate it." Nalbantoglu conjured a song that the audience immediately identified… The famous Bent Al Shalabeya (Beautiful Girl) by the Lebanese composers, Al Rohbani brothers. Just as Turkish coffee delights many, so did the Turkish Coffee band, with its musical mixtures of Turkish traditions. A great kick-off for the promising Spring Festival!