Art of the Azerbaijani ashiq

The ashiq is poet, singer and saz player at once. At weddings and gatherings he sings his own verse and tells folk epics — Koroghlu, Asli and Karam, Ashiq Garib — while playing the saz.

The art goes back to the ancient Turkic ozans and the tradition of Dede Korkut. Verse forms such as garayli, goshma and tajnis are the basis of ashiq poetry, and ashiqs also compete in deyishme — improvised verse duels.

Ashiq Alasgar (1821–1926), Ashiq Ali and Ashiq Shamshir are counted among its greatest masters. The "Art of Azerbaijani Ashiq" was inscribed on UNESCO's intangible heritage list in 2009.