Hasan KARLITAŞ

Which year was it, when you walked out from that door
And you never walked back to those streets, remember
Remember the laughter of Ciğerci Ahmet
Lefkoşa was such a beauty... 

(Ahmet OKAN)

The painter Semra Bayhanlı in the Center of Folk Arts Association (HASDER) in Nicosia initiated the exhibition named “ŞEHER” (The City), which abundantly felt like Cyprus. The exhibition transmitted the nostalgia of the times when Nicosia was "The City" as its name. Ahmet Okan's unique poems, which were even more meaningful, deeply affected the audience.

With her twin sister Sevcan Çerkez, Semra Bayhanlı, opened her first exhibition with a collection of paintings and sculptures. Her second exhibition named "Pirililerim Gitmesin" (I want my marbles to stay). After the second exhibition, in her third solo exhibition "Şeher", the artist have created a unique theme by including characters who are iconic in Nicosia and reflects the very essence of the Nicosia.

People come and go?

Everybody was in the exhibition; members of the Mehmetaliler community who were indispensable for the Cypriot weddings, Ahmet Becerikli and Ahmet Altıparmak who entertained the people of Nicosia with the lyrics Mavusa dedikleri/ gargadır yedikleri / çok hoşuma gidiyor / gargacı dedikleri… Ağrıdı dişim nananay / sızladı dişim nananay / çok içmişim nananay ve Kelle”, Çoronik ve Karanfilli who were the two special colours of is "the city" Nicosia, Philosopher (Feylosof), Vedia Barut, Hüseyin Kanatlı the unique voice of the record label contest program in the radio, Simavi Aşık, Ciğerci Ahmet who has recently passed away, whose place can not be re-filled, his every word was making people smile with a thoughtful manner, then there was Ali Dayı who has won his life for years as a peddle despite he was blind, and Kamuran Aziz who carved the lyrics “Al yemeni mor yemeni”, “Kıbrıs bir adamıdır cennetten parçamıdır “ to our hearts and became national anthem to us, and many more was there…Unforgettable ...

They will not be forgotten ...

We have created a dream,
Based on Al yemeni mor yemeni (a local song). ( Ahmet Okan )

I wish success to the productive artist Semra Bayhanlı, who made us feel the nostalgia of the past and think about the future with her oil painting and watercolor works that creates a unique feeling.

Hey, Old Nicosia... Our Nicosia... Our City

You, don’t be fooled by the silent appearance of the stones of Nicosia...

They, have been witnesses of all the critical historical cornerstones of Nicosia …

Both prosperities and distractions…

Hey, Old Nicosia... Hey you, the glorious city of the Middle age… Our Nicosia… Our City...

Unfortunately, we couldn’t take a good care of you... We couldn’t love you enough. We left you… Not only the buildings and houses, we also left our past as a community, our childhoods, our youth and our culture. Many streets that once was the heart of the city, now full of sadness... The fate of Nicosia can be changed with a good vision and by holding tightly to the values that make us who we are...

Memories will be washed away one day
A sound remains in our ears ( Ahmet Okan )

With the determination to reach the days of our Cyprus and Nicosia deserve...