Raquy Danziger's Blog

So I decided to extend my stay in Istanbul until April 15th!!!!!

The Land of Antrenman

My teacher Bunyamin has been practicing with me like 8 hours a day! The other day my lesson went from 4pm to 4am! I feel like I’m in the next phase, because I studied with him for one month and then I practiced on my own in Egypt for a month, so coming back now, I can keep up with him much more! We are composing a sick ass duet together!

Finally! Meeting Missirli Ahmet and Levant

Yay! I finally got to meet Missirli Ahmet and Levant!

So a few nights ago was our show in istanbul and a bunch of missirli ahmets students showed up! They were soooo sweet and nice and ever since I've been hanging out with them! I get them drunk and then make them show me the stuff they're learning, hee hee.

So they had their lesson with him last night and they said they would tell him about me and ask if I could come meet him. So i was at Bunyamins and i get a message that I can come meet him!

So I went over to the school and I got to hang out with with Missirli Ahmet and Levant. They were very sweet to me and invited me to a party at their school the next day.

So I walked into the party and Levant was jamming. I must say, I’ve never seen dumbek playing like that. He was flying. I ended up staying until the morning and I had a nice bond with both Ahmet and Levant. Ahmet didn’t play but I got to jam with Levant. Everyone was very nice to me and made me feel welcome and I got compliments on my playing by Missiri Amet. Many of the students had seen my videos on you tube before so they really treated me like a celebrity!

Levant is based in Paris but he wants to come visit me in NY. I told him he can stay w me at my apartment if he agrees to practice with me every day and he said okay., so I hope all of you new york messengers get to meet him soon. who knows, maybe he’ll come on a retreat. We both speak French, Arabic and English, so we switch back and forth from three languages! He is very handsome and charming!

Motorcycle trip to the Black Sea

I was supposed to have a kemenche lesson the other day, and my teacher called me and said “it’s a beautiful day out – lets go on a motorcyle trip to the black sea instead” So I said yes, and he picked me up on his Harley and we rode along the Bosphorus all the way to the black sea stopping occasionally for tea and snacks. What a wonderful day!

My New Group of Friends

I love my new friends, the students of missirli ahmet. They are soo nice to me and next weekend one of them is having a bon voyage party for me!