Treehouse Productions

FolkJourneys in Central Asia and the Middle East

In 2005-2007, Treehouse Productions will be on the road collecting music and folklore reportage for an upcoming series, FolkJourneys in Central Asia and the Middle East.

The journey began in the summer of 2005 with a visit to Turkey by Will Everett and Lois Bent. The highlight of the trip was a search for the Turkish ashiks, medeival troubadours who continue to thrive in modern-day Turkey, telling tales and performing on the saz. Will and Lois's music and folklore experiences in Istanbul, Trabzon and Erzurum are collected in this demo. Listen to audio MP3.

The journey continued for Will Everett in December-January 2006 with an overland journey across the former silk road route in Afghanistan. He began in Islamabad and continued through Peshawar and across the Khyber Pass to Kabul. From there he continued to the northern religious site of Mazar-i-Sharif, returning to Islamabad in the back of a public bus.

Several freelance pieces emerged from this trip, including "Behind the Burka", a short commentary for WorldVision Report which won the Bronze World Medal at the New York Festivals in Fall 2006. Listen: Audio MP3

Two other pieces appeared on The World, a co-production of the BBC and WGBH (Boston):

- "Music from the Ruins" (8:00) - a visit to the Kharabat Street in Kabul, former cradle of Afghan traditional music.

Listen to audio MP3.

- "Meet the Kouchis" (8:00) - a visit with the Kouchi family, whom Everett met following a chance encounter outside Kabul University. Listen to audio MP3.

Listen to two half-hour documentaries of this Afghanistan trip, produced for Theme and Variations. Listen to audio 1 - Listen to audio 2