DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (A.W.)—Armenian musician Yervant Bostancı, who had left Diyarbakir for Istanbul in 1976 and had been living in the U.S. since 1993, moved back to his hometown last week. The musician/performer, known in Turkey as Udi Yervant, was greeted at the Diyarbakir Airport by a group of artist friends.
In an interview with the Armenian Weekly, Udi Yervant said he had left Diyarbakir for personal reasons, and eventually ended up in the United States. “I had fallen in love with a Kurdish woman, but under the circumstances of the day, marriage was not possible. My solution was leaving,” he said. “But I never got used to America. My heart stayed in Diyarbakir. The walls of my little music studio in the U.S. were covered with photographs of Diyarbakir and its famous musicians. In essence, even in America I was still living in Diyarbakir.”
Udi Yervant returned to Diyarbakir for the first time in 2004, taking part in a cultural festival organized by the Diyarbakir Municipality. “I was very warmly welcomed by Diyarbakir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Osman Baydemir, and by members of the [pro-Kurdish] Peace and Democracy Party (BDP). I was surrounded by artists and musicians, whose love and affection were overwhelming,” he said.
Şeyhmus Diken, the author of a book on Udi Yervant titled Ula Fille Hoş Geldin: Diyarbekirli Udi Yervant Bostancı, told the Weekly: “I am very happy to have our brother Yervant with us once again.”
Soon after his arrival in Diyarbakir, Udi Yervant performed Armenian, Kurdish, and Turkish songs to the dozens of friends who had gathered to welcome him.
Armenian Weekly correspondent Gulisor Akkum filed this report from Diyarbakir.
Gulisor Akkum
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