In the district of Galata near Taksim Square in Istanbul, Galip Dede Street is a serie of shops and music workshops. You can find guitars, pianos and also cymbals manufactured by Armenians or the saz, ney, oud, the laouto, daf …

The atmosphere is friendly and sellers love to share their music with customers or passing travelers.
Traditionally, Turkish music is transmitted without notation. This technique of memory-based or « by heart » learning is called the Mesk.