Bajar is a music group that tells the common life, social problems and cultural intersections of Kurds and Turks who migrated to Istanbul through songs. The name of the group means “city” in Kurdish. This name represents not only a geographical area; it also represents the search for a new identity and cultural transformation of those who migrated from villages to cities.

“We founded Bajar for cities”

Vedat Yıldırım, the lead singer of the Bajar music group, tells the story of the group’s foundation for Şoperêç as follows:

“When we founded Bajar 12 years ago, we first thought about the name. At that time, there were very intense conflicts and village evacuations. Our people migrated to the west, to big cities — Mersin, İzmir, İstanbul. A new sociology emerged there. Kurds and the people there came together. City life became a subject for us. Our villages are gone. Kurds now mostly live in cities. We wanted the Euphrates’ waters to mix with the Marmara.”

City, identity and resistance in Bajar’s music

Bajar’s founding philosophy is based on the touching, meeting and merging of one geography with another. Bajar is not a classical music group; it is a cultural narrative project. Themes such as identity crises experienced with migration, adaptation to city life, loss or reconstruction of language find their place in the group’s songs. This transformation is handled with both a political and emotional narrative.

Bridges built with music

Bajar aims to build a bridge between different cultures living in Turkey, especially the Kurdish and Turkish people. The group, which tries to remove borders with its music, voices the dream of a common future by flowing the waters of the Euphrates into the Marmara.