Nowhere else could possibly sound and feel like this. The passionate rhythms of karsilama and ciftetelli overlaid with intense melodies on the zurna, kanun, davul, ud, dumbek, ney and zils echoing through the woods and off the mountainside belie the truth.  Look around and delight in the glory of the dancers and musicians.  Dance.

And this was just the beginning - well, almost the beginning. Late on Friday afternoon, many months of planning and preparation by Tayyar Akdeniz and Artemis came to fruition as dancers and musicians from all over the U.S. and the Middle East converged at the campground for four intense days and nights of music and dance classes, performances, and a celebration of Middle Eastern music, dance and culture.  Oh yes, did I mention vendors? There were sequins and beads enough to satisfy the greediest magpie, CDs, and those emergency must-have harem pants or cholis.

The dance classes featured Eva Cernik, Nursel Mojka, Karim Nagi, Tayyar Akdeniz, Artemis Mourat and Edie Thurrell (teaching Egyptian Oriental, Turkish Oriental, authentic Macedonian Romany dance, American Tribal style, folk dance and Yoga . Unfortunately Shareen el Safy and Kajira Djoumahna were both seriously ill and Jajouka and Samira of New York City and Fleur of Pennsylvania stepped to the plate to sub for them.

Meanwhile, the percussionists were not being slighted. Davul, dumbek, def and finger cymbals classes, as taught by Tayyar Akdeniz, Brad Sidwell, Karim Nagi, Seido Salifoski, and Souren Baronian were plentiful and taught for all levels.

And there were still more master musicians sharing their knowledge and skills on a variety of instruments in class -  kanun, ney, zurna, ud, baglama, finger cymbals and the ensemble class were taught by Tamer Pinarbasi, Hamit Golbasi, Haig Manoukian, Ara Dinkjian, Ali Kahya, Soner Cicek, Umut Yasmut and Maurice Chedid.  Winds and reeds layered their personae over the percussion from various points on the mountainside, blending with strings of all sorts, and voices soaring in song. The heartbeat found a body and face, and clothed itself in shimmering music.  The mountain sang.  And we were one.

Over meals, dancers and musicians made new friends, shared their insights, and compared their experiences as they refreshed and regrouped. 

by the dance and music teachers as well as fellow students, with plenty of open floor dancing and two different bands of musicians - one specializing in Turkish and one in Arabic styling. Henna artists plied their trade and massage therapists worked miracles. The music and dancing continued into the morning hours, and exhausted but inspired dancers and musicians began another day.

And then came Monday afternoon and time to go home - until we do it again in September in Turkey or next year at the same time, but at our new location in the Pennsylvania. Over brunch, we all heard the same words: “See you at camp next year!”