"Since the 11th Century, Turkish people from the deserts of Samarqand to the mountains of Anatolia recited poetry in search of the ultimate truth and union with the Beloved. With their strong shamanistic background, my ancestors blended Islamic and many other local rituals of Anatolia, creating the wonderfully Turkish ways of Sufi mysticism like the Bektashis, Mevlevis and many others. Why “Gul: The Rose” as the title of this recording? “Gul” is the Rose, the symbol of unfolding in the mystic Sufi tradition. Life starts in a bud and it unfolds to a magnificent beauty with a long painful journey regardless of all those thorns surrounding the flower, like “cooking oneself” thru the difficulties of life. However, once the unfolding is completed, you get the most magnificent of all flowers." - Latif Bolat.