Famous folk singer Neset Ertas passes away at 74

Neset Ertas, an internationally renowned Turkish folk musician who was named one of the global Living Human Treasures by UNESCO, died in the Aegean province of Izmir yesterday, losing a two-year battle with cancer. Ertas had been receiving treatment at the Izmir Medical Park Hospital for the past 15 days and was taken to the intensive care unit two days ago. He was 74. He was an inspiration to generations of musicians and music-lovers, thanks to his fresh take on the centuries-old Anatolian musical tradition. Ertas’ inviting voice, accompanied by the strings of his baglama, had made him a modern-day "asik," the traveling bard of Anatolian Alevi tradition of centuries, a historic image personifying Anatolian folk music. He had been a household name in Turkey for half a century.