The Seyrani Monument is a monument in

Develi Develi, formerly known as Averak, is a town and district in Kayseri Province in Central Anatolia Region, Turkey. History The historical name of the town is Everek and it is called ''Averak'' (oren, ruin) in Armenian. The historian, geographer, ...

, Kayseri, Turkey, dedicated to Seyrani (1800–1866) who was born in the town. It was created in 1976 by the sculptor

Gürdal Duyar Gürdal Duyar (20 August 1935 – 18 April 2004) was a Turkish people, Turkish sculptor, known especially for his monuments to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Atatürk and Bust (sculpture), busts of famous people. His art is characterized by a Modern scul ...

on commission of the mayor of the Develi, and has since become a symbol of the town. The sculpture is referred to as the , literally meaning Ashik Seyrani monument. It depicts the Develi-born Turkish folk poet

Âşık Seyrani Seyrani (born 1800 - 1866) was a Turkish folk poet Biography The date of birth of Seyrani from Develi ''(Everek)'' is not certain. There are records that he was born in 1800 or 1807. He was born in Develi, known as Everek in those years, whi ...

(1800–1866) holding a

Bağlama The ''bağlama'' or ''saz'' is a family of plucked string instruments, long-necked lutes used in Ottoman classical music, Turkish folk music, Turkish Arabesque music, Azerbaijani music, Kurdish music, Armenian music and in parts of Syria, Iraq ...

. It stands at and weighs .

History

Haşim Nezihi, a middle school principal, received a letter from students advocating for a sculpture of Seyrani to be erected and money was collected for this purpose. The ''Develi Seyranî Public Library and Monument Building Development Association'' was established in the 1970s with the goal of creating a monument to Seyrani in the center of the district. However, no activity took place concerning the intended monument until 14 February 1976, when the

Municipality made an agreement with sculptor

, and

Mayor Mehmet Özdemir commissioned Duyar to make the sculpture. The monument was placed 4 April 1976 and completed on 30 April 1976 in a park in front of the ''Çarşı Mosque'' in an area of Develi called ''Cumhuriyet Square''. The sculpture cost 55,000

Lira Lira is the name of several currency units. It is the current currency of Turkey and also the local name of the currencies of Lebanon and of Syria. It is also the name of several former currencies, including those of Italy, Malta and Israe ...

. In 1983, a base was added to the sculpture which included Seyrani's name, birth and death date, and an excerpt of his poetry. During the renovations of the mosque and the park some years later, the sculpture was moved to the old market square of Develi, where it would go on to become a symbol of the Develi district. Today the square in which it stands is referred to as ''Aşık Seyrani Square''. More recent renovations of the Aşık Seyrani Square included a new marble base for the monument with more of Seyrani's poetry. These renovations were completed by June 2018.

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Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * {{Authority control 1976 sculptures Buildings and structures in Kayseri Outdoor sculptures in Turkey Sculptures by Gürdal Duyar Monuments and memorials in Turkey