Sufism and Music Training Program

Technical Details

• The program lasts 8 weeks.
• It runs from November 2 to December 21, 2026.
• Mondays, 14.00 – 16.00
• Program fee: 4,000 TL
• Fee for Participants from Abroad: 60.00 EURO

***The program will be held face-to-face and can also be  followed online.
*** Lessons are recorded simultaneously and uploaded to the system. Lesson videos remain accessible to participants for 6 months.

Participants who have completed their payment are kindly requested to send their payment details to tasavvuf@uskudar.edu.tr. 

Scope

As Erzurumlu İbrahim Hakkı said, "Music is a science of wisdom; it is clear to those who know and those who do not."

Since Sufis were well aware of the contribution of Sufi music to a person's spiritual education, music became one of the most important tools used in the spiritual education process in Sufi lodges (tekkes). The first Sufi music began with compositions set to the hikmets (wisdom poems) of Ahmed Yesevi, and the nutk-ı şerifs (sacred utterances) of the Anatolian saints have been set to music and sung by lovers of the Real (al-Haqq) to this day.

The effect of the saints' utterances on the soul through melodies is far more powerful than reading the same words from a book or hearing them in speech. These sacred utterances, each a magical pearl of words, begin to have an ever greater effect as they are repeated.  Over time, one's understanding and comprehension are elevated.

Anyone who loves music, who wishes to become at least somewhat acquainted with our ancient culture in terms of its literature, Sufism and music, and who wants at least to become a good listener may join this program. In the program, examples of ilahis (hymns) by Sufi poets whose poems have been most frequently set to music, such as Yunus Emre, Niyazi-i Mısri, Eşrefoğlu Rumi, Aziz Mahmud Hüdayi, Alvarlı Efe and Ken'an Rifai, will be taught through meşk (traditional oral instruction).  "Dağlar ile taşlar ile çağırayım Mevlâm seni," "Sevgi baht olmuş ezelden bize," "Hak şerleri hayreyler," "Ey âşık-ı dildâde," "Erler demine destur alalım" and many more…

We hope that those who are interested in Sufism but have not previously had the opportunity to engage with this beautiful, ancient music of ours will become acquainted with it through this program.

Course Format: Our lessons will be accompanied by instruments. Depending on the circumstances, these may include the ney, oud, classical kemençe, kanun, tanbur, kudüm and bendir. Our work will be carried out using the meşk method. Before each lesson begins, the lyrics of the new pieces will be distributed and learned through repetition. The repertoire will be enriched by adding different pieces each week. Knowledge of musical notation is not required to attend the lessons; having a musical ear is sufficient.

Who Is Elif Ömürlü Uyar?

She was born in Istanbul and graduated from the Department of Management Engineering at ITU (Istanbul Technical University). She began her first music education during her middle school years at the Kubbealtı Music Society under her father, Yusuf Ömürlü. She later shared the musical knowledge she had received from her father with her own students, again at Kubbealtı. During her university years, she attended the Istanbul University Choir conducted by Süheylâ Altmışdört. For many years, she drew inspiration from the fasıl gatherings held at the home of oud player and composer Câhit Gözkân, attended by distinguished artists. Through the pieces she performed on the program "Cemalnur Sargut ile Aşka Yolculuk" (Journey to Love with Cemalnur Sargut), broadcast on Beyaz TV, she contributed to the promotion of Classical Turkish Music and Sufi Music. For 5 years, she directed the music activities at the Kubbealtı Academy Culture and Art Foundation and the Kubbealtı Music Ensemble, which she took over from her father Yusuf Ömürlü in 2010. Since 2016, she has been directing the "Istanbul Türk Ocağı Ömürlü Music Ensemble." Since 2019, she has also continued to lead Sufi Music rehearsals on the Anatolian side of Istanbul. She also teaches music theory, solfège, repertoire and usul (rhythmic patterns). In January 2025, she completed her master's degree at the Uskudar University Institute For Sufi Studies with her thesis titled "Sâmiha Ayverdi’nin Eserlerinde Mûsikî" (Music in the Works of Sâmiha Ayverdi).

Albums: Erler Demine (2022), Yusuf Ömürlü Besteleri (2021), Gönül Bahçemden (2020), Kimi Dost’a Varır (2015), İlâhiyât-ı Ken’ân (2012).

 Agenda