Mehmet Tamdeger

Mehmet Tamdeger’s mentor was Mikkail Zilcan, who taught him everything the master craftsmen knew about cymbal making. Mehmet was born in the same small village outside Istanbul, Turkey where cymbal making is thought to have been developed in 1623. Zilcan taught Mehmet’s best childhood friend, Agop Tomarcuk, the same trade. After Mr. Zilcan’s passing, Mehmet and Agop established their own company, Istanbul Cymbals. Both men took personal care over the company, hand making and signing each and every product. After the death of Agop in a 1997 tragic boat fire, Mehmet kept control of the factory, selling cymbals under the Istanbul Mehmet name, while members of Agop’s family established their own company and produces the Istanbul Agop line. Our interview with Mehmet for the NAMM Oral History program was completed in Frankfurt Germany on March 30, 2006.