About
Tahtakılıç Saz is a workshop that crafts the bağlama (Anatolian long-necked lute) family entirely by hand.
Our Story
It began with a broken saz.
The Tahtakılıç Saz Workshop began in 2013, in the basement of a home, with a broken saz. The very first instrument was made as a gift for a friend.
The Master
Who is Emre Uygun?
The founder and master luthier of the Tahtakılıç Saz Workshop.
Emre Uygun was born in 1982 in Üsküdar, Istanbul. A graduate of the business faculties of Kocaeli University and Anadolu University, he works as a certified financial advisor. His family roots reach back to the Caucasus and the northern Aegean.
He began playing the bağlama at the age of 13; at 17 he turned to the restoration and repair of bağlamas.
From 2010 onward he devoted himself entirely to bağlama making, and in 2013 he founded the Tahtakılıç Saz Workshop in a small studio.
Our Roots
What does Tahtakılıç mean?
The metaphor of the “wooden sword” (Tahtakılıç) represents, in our culture, peace, justice and tolerance — the struggle of a person with their own self, and the choice to keep away from violence.
Its roots lie in a philosophy of values drawn from the old Turkic moral disciplines and an understanding of Islam rooted in the Ehl-i Beyt tradition. Pir-i Türkistan Hoca Ahmet Yesevi, Hünkâr Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli and the School of the Urum Abdals are among the foremost representatives of this understanding.
How we work
Selected Wood
We use acoustically prioritised woods, gathered from every corner of the world, selected and seasoned specifically for instruments — and above all for the bağlama.
Craftsmanship
Craftsmanship that takes shape patiently, over time.