The sound of the tulum echoing across the slopes of Eastern Black Sea doesn’t only speak to the mountains; it resonates with memory, with history, and with quiet defiance.

This documentary photo project offers a visual testimony to the making process of the tulum, the age-old bagpipe of the Eastern Black Sea. Master craftsman Baykan Bayraktutan, from Rize, is one of Turkey’s most prominent tulum makers. In his hands, each tulum becomes more than an instrument — it becomes the breath of the land, of culture, of memory. His workshop feels like a space where dozens of silent instruments wait — not to be completed, but to be awakened.

Leather and wood come together in the making of a tulum. But the most essential material is patience. Throughout this work, I witnessed a full cycle of life — from the cutting of leather to the drilling of pipes, from the first breath that inflates the body to the final tune it releases. When the tulum finally came to life with the master’s breath, it felt as though a people’s voice had been reborn — not just an instrument.

Each frame is a note filtered through time. Each detail, a memory captured not to be forgotten.

This project is not merely a documentary about craftsmanship — It is a visual note, composed to ensure that a culture’s voice is never silenced. Because sometimes, a photograph can keep a melody alive for generations.

The hide to be used for making the tulum is first placed in a brine solution; this softens the skin and allows the hair to be removed more easily.

After the hair is removed, the remaining layer of fat on the hide is carefully scraped away. This step makes the material ready for shaping and crafting.

Nav, the first piece through which breath enters the tulum, is carefully shaped by the craftsman’s hand.

The craftsman carefully carves and shapes the blowpipe that inflates the tulum. This piece is where the instrument first meets the breath.

The melody pipe (sipsi) is drilled according to precise measurements, and tone holes are opened. Each hole determines the position of a future note. This stage marks the beginning of the instrument’s sound formation.

The reeds that produce the tulum’s sound are left to dry naturally for 8 to 10 months after being harvested. Once fully dried, they are heated in oil to enhance their acoustic quality. This process helps the reeds produce a richer and more balanced tone.

After the drying and oil-heating process is complete, the reeds are now ready to produce sound. The craftsman carefully mounts them onto the sipsi and fits them into the nav. With this step, the passage where breath meets sound is fully assembled.

The craftsman blows into the tulum for the first time. The leather bag inflates, and sound begins to emerge from the pipes. This moment marks the instrument’s first sound test and the beginning of the tuning process.