"Aşan bilir karlı dağın ardını," she whispered to the cold air. Only the one who crosses knows what lies behind the snowy mountain.
She began to sing. Her voice, rich and evocative—the same voice that would one day make her a legend of Turkish folk music —carried over the valleys. She sang of the "bülbül" (nightingale) and the price of the rose’s sorrow. She sang for those who "know the pain of separation" ( Çeken bilir ayrılığın derdini ). Aysun Gultekin Asan Bilir Karli Dagin Ardini
In her mind, the "mountain" wasn't just the physical rock and ice of the range. It was the silence of a loved one who had gone to the city for work and hadn't sent word in months. It was the fear that the person she used to know was now a stranger on the other side of that white peak. "Aşan bilir karlı dağın ardını," she whispered to