Akhism

In the İskender family, putting on the peştemal apron means more than putting on a garment; it means taking on an oath handed down from our forebears to the present day.

Each generation begins its journey as an apprentice. First come the dishes, then the shaping of hands and character by the fierce heat of the hearth. The path to mastery is travelled not through skill alone, but through patience, respect and honest toil.

The apprentice grows and becomes a journeyman. The journeyman matures and, when the time comes, stands before the masters. Voices fall silent, hearts grow still, and eyes fill with tears.

At that moment, a ceremonial guide steps forward and recites this supplication aloud:

“Ehli derd olalım, nokta gibi ferd olalım. Düşelim küfei harabe, nât ile nâyat olalım. Nice nimet koyalım, sıh çiğnanda bir ad olalım.” (Let us be masters of suffering, let us be solitary like a dot. Let us fall into the ruined basket, let us become praise and lamentation. Let us leave behind many a blessing, let us become a name on three shoulders.)

The young man then kneels before the masters. The ancestors’ prayer echoes in the air. A master takes the peştemal in his hands and slowly, with dignity, wraps it around the young master’s waist. It is wound around him three times, and with every turn a prayer rises:

“Allah is the Greatest, Allah is the Greatest; there is no god but Allah, and Allah is the Greatest.”

With every turn, a knot is tied; with every knot, a pledge is made:
The first knot, for Allah Almighty: ‘I will remain steadfast in honesty.’
The second knot, for Gabriel, peace be upon him: ‘I will never stray from the path of honest labour and lawful earnings.’
The third knot, for the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him: ‘I will be a master worthy of my ancestors.’

The peştemal is wrapped around not only the body, but the heart.
For at this hearth, mastery is sealed not by a certificate, but by honest toil, integrity and loyalty.

At the end of the ceremony, the masters turn to the young man and proclaim aloud:

“O people of serenity and faithful companions! We have neither a decree like the sultan’s, nor a remedy like Lokman’s! Understand words and music; those who can discern white from black are called Aşık Garip, and we have a strange tale…”

It was through just such a ceremony that Kayhan and Oğuzhan İskenderoğlu attained mastery. Today, they carry on their shoulders not merely a brand, but a legacy of more than 150 years and the banner of a solemn pledge.

The peştemal on their shoulders is more than a piece of cloth: it is their great-grandfathers’ shroud, a legacy woven with honest toil.
Patience lies in every stitch, loyalty in every knot, and a prayer in every fold.

For to become a master at İskender’s hearth means more than taming the fire: it means first purifying the heart, then offering one’s hands to the flames.

And so the hands that bear this legacy carry the prayer of the past into the future.