Buying and Learning Karadeniz Kemençesi

Hi all! I will be visiting my girlfriend in Ankara next month and have decided it’s finally time to start working towards a dream of mine.

I want to learn to play karadeniz kemençesi.

My girlfriend’s family are all from karadeniz, and the first time I heard this beautiful instrument on old recordings I fell in love! I’m a musician by trade so I have a lot of experience - but nothing directly related to bowed instruments…

I was wondering if anyone had any advice for purchasing one? I will be in Ankara for a start, my girlfriend, being a local, has a lot of good ideas of where to look, and we’ll go shopping together so communication won’t be a problem.

How much should I expect to spend on a decent one, if anyone has an idea? I’m after a decent quality instrument, not something insanely high quality that will cost a fortune, but also not something that barely works.

And finally, are there any good learning materials out there? My Turkish is far from perfect (yet!) so most of my learning will probably be done by ear, but I certainly have the motivation!

I’d really appreciate any advice you can give!

Çok teşekkür ederim!