Edgar: These are the famous whirling dervishes of Turkey.

♪♪ This ancient ritual, performed by followers of the Sufi master Rumi, leads practitioners on a mystical journey, from everyday human consciousness to spiritual enlightenment.

Turning in circles while focusing on the haunting melodies and repetitive rhythms of music results in a trance-like state of ecstasy, wherein the mysteries of the world are revealed.

Like Alice going down the rabbit hole, I'm about to embark on a journey to a psychedelic landscape that will expand the boundaries of space and mind.

Man: Flight ready for departure.

♪♪ ♪♪ [ Man singing in foreign language ] You may think you've heard everything, but the world is full of surprises.

And when you're hanging out with musicians, nothing is off limits.

Is this what you guys do every weekend?

Every night.

Every night!

Yeah.

My name is Jacob Edgar.

Music is my life, and life is short.

So crank up the volume and let the voyage begin.

♪ Reste au pres de moi ♪ ♪ Une nuit avec ramon le guerrillero valiente ♪ ♪ Amigo ♪ ♪ Reste au pres de moi ♪ ♪ Cette nuit on va danser tout pres de la muerte ♪ ♪ Amigo ♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ I'm cruising along the Bosphorus Sea in Istanbul, Turkey.

To my right is the continent of Europe, to my left, Asia.

This region has long been a bridge between East and West, between the past and the future, between the temporal world and the spiritual world.

On this episode of "Music Voyager," I am going to be exploring what I call the altered states of Turkish music and culture.

My guide into the world of Turkish surrealism is Murat Ertel, a founding member of the psychedelic folk rock band Baba Zula.

With their quirky, retro sound, inspired equally by Turkish roots music as it is by esoteric art-rock and trippy electronica, Baba Zula have been trendsetters on the underground music scene in Turkey since 1996 and have built a solid following abroad, as well.

Murat agrees to pick me up on the outskirts of Istanbul and take me on a road trip up the Bosphorus to the North of the city.

His vintage Ford Futura makes him impossible to miss.

Yeah?

So... As we drive, Murat attempts to describe Baba Zula's sound.

Space music.

[ Both chuckle ] [ Whistles eerily ] Yeah.

Now, why do you think Turkey is unique in the way that rock has influenced its sound?

You know?

They're rebels.

Yes.

Pioneering musicians like Erkin Koray kicked off the Turkish psychedelic rock movement in the 1960s.

By blending the distorted guitars and free-wheeling spirit of American and European rock bands with Turkish folk songs and instruments, the Turkish psychedelic rock scene revolutionized local music.

To this day, the sound is trendy among hipster music fans around the world.

As we drive North along the Bosphorus, we move away from Istanbul's urban bustle to a more relaxed ambiance.

Murat brings me to a small fishing village at the mouth of the Black Sea.

Here we meet Levent Akman, one of the other founding members of Baba Zula, for lunch in a floating restaurant.

Another Baba Zula!

These boat restaurants typically serve seafood that's pulled straight out of the water, brought into the kitchen, and cooked right in front of your eyes.

We go for some delicious fried mussels and calamari.

[ Woman singing in Turkish ] Where does the name "Baba Zula" come from?

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ How do ritual, trance, and this concept of psychedelic thinking play into your music and your approach?

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Murat takes me back to Istanbul to see his studio, which is located in a rapidly developing corner of the city known for its auto repair shops, luxury high-rises, and the occasional meandering farm animal.

Hidden between auto-body shops and these nondescript garages is a vibrant community of artists who have sought out these inexpensive spaces to create art studios, workshops, and rehearsal rooms.

We're entering the domain of Baba Zula.

Yes.

Wow!

I get the feeling that your brain just exploded and all of the detritus from your mind ended up on the walls of this space.

♪♪ So much of rock is a spirit of rebellion, and that really attracted people.

Do you consider yourself to be a rebel in some way?

Yeah?

What are some of your causes?

What do you feel like you're expressing?

Murat's usage of effects, distortion, vintage '70s gear, and newer technologies like iPads allow him to constantly push the boundaries of Baba Zula's sound.

[ Turkish electronica plays ] While the electrification of the saz, a long-necked lute that's Turkey's quintessential musical instrumental, dates back quite a while, Murat has taken things to a whole new level.

To quote "Spinal Tap," Murat's saz "goes to 11."

♪♪ Murat: For instance... Well, I can see why some purists would be spinning in their graves, you know, when they see this.

Yes.

They're like, "What?!

What have you done?!"

Yeah.

♪♪ If I close my eyes while listening to Baba Zula jam in their studio, I can easily imagine myself at a festival like Woodstock, surrounded by thousands of blissed-out flower children, tripping the light fantastic to deep, Hendrix-like grooves.

♪♪ ♪♪ Like the whirling dervishes who seek spiritual transcendence through music and meditation, Baba Zula also use music to aid them in entering a frame of mind that lies outside of our day-to-day experience.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Near Istanbul's legendary Grand Bazaar Market is an old madrasa, or Islamic school.

Pass through a mysterious stone archway, and you'll find yourself in an ancient cemetery.

On the other side is a colorful, exotic hookah bar.

It's a great place to get away from the hustle and bustle and meet some new friends.

You were the bodyguard?

You look like a bodyguard.

Yes.

All right, I'll try not to insult you, yeah.

Yeah.

Here, they keep the hot coals ready, you get your pick of ornately-decorated hookahs, and they offer many aromatic flavors of strong tobacco.

Very nice.

Apple tobacco?

Mmm, smells like -- It smells really good.

What other kinds of tobacco do they have?

Apple... Also the grapes.

It's like ice cream or something.

It's like going to the ice cream store.

Yeah, you'll have to show me how this works.

I haven't used a hookah since I was in college.

More?

Yeah, of course!

Peer pressure!

Okay, guys, I'll smoke more.

All right, I want to be cool.

[ Inhales deeply ] Come on!

It is... Oh!

Oh, that was nothing.

You show me, show me.

All right.

Wow, you're a professional.

[ Coughs ] [ Laughter ] Excuse me!

♪♪ Edgar: While they take their smoking seriously, spots like this are really more about chilling out with your friends.

That's nice.

Oh, that's great.

Well, thanks for letting me hang out with you.

I'm not a tobacco smoker, so the potent nicotine hits me like a narcotic.

Ahh!

♪♪ ♪♪ Okay, I'm not really having a psychedelic experience, I'm sad to say.

I've just moved on to my next destination in Turkey.

Hundreds of miles to the East of Istanbul, in Central Anatolia, is the region of Cappadocia, and like religious pilgrims, traders, and explorers have for thousands of years, I'm here to enjoy its magical landscape, picturesque villages, and enticing cuisine.

Clarinetist Serkan Cagri is one of Turkey's most talented young musicians, and he and his family have agreed to meet me here.

Known for his cross-genre collaborations and gift for innovating with traditional styles, Serkan is also a popular television personality.

So I guess we have a lot in common... everything, that is, except a common language.

As the sun sets in Cappadocia, Serkan serenades the landscape with a haunting performance of his song "Ruya," which aptly translates as "dream."

[ Clarinet plays ] ♪♪ ♪♪ How would you describe Serkan Cagri music?

What is that?

[ Speaking foreign language ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ What led you to fall in love with the clarinet and devote your career to that?

While Serkan heads off to find some local musicians to play with, I explore the town of Goreme.

♪♪ Cappadocia is known for its carpets, handwoven masterpieces that can last hundreds of years and often have stories embedded in the patterns.

♪♪ Our host in Cappadocia is a local entrepreneur named Mehmet Dashdelen.

Among other businesses in town, he owns the stunning Sultan Hotel.

Below its open courtyards and cave rooms carved into rocks are reminders of another Cappadocian tradition -- wine-making.

In the bowels of the hotel is an ancient wine-making room where people have been stomping grapes with their bare feet for hundreds of years.

♪♪ Across town, a jam session is brewing.

Serkan and some local musicians meet for the first time and take a few moments to tune up and go over some songs.

A local belly dancer joins in to demonstrate this ancient art form, which has deep roots in Turkish history.

♪♪ Popular throughout the Middle East and in hippy communities everywhere, belly dancing was common in the harems of Ottoman sultans.

But it likely originated out of ancient religious ceremonies and ritualistic folkloric celebrations.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ In the evening, Mehmet invites us back to his hotel for a traditional Cappadocian meal.

Given my experiences so far in Turkey, I expect it will last many hours and involve far too much food and drink... [ Sings in foreign language ] ...especially of raki, a licorice-flavored spirit that's treated with great reverence.

What is so special about this seemingly simple drink?

Raki is not something you can drink by yourself.

You should have good company.

If it is not good company, it's just left, also.

Yeah.

I've also heard it's typical to drink it with food.

You don't just drink it alone.

But for raki, it's all about raki, not the food.

You choose your food according to raki.

It's not like you can order and drink by itself.

You can't just down the whole glass all at once.

You cannot drink once.

It's slow, you should put it in your mouth, a little bit, and enjoy it.

Enjoy it, appreciate it, let it settle.

Exactly.

[ Singing continues ] Well, thank you all for having me in Cappadocia.

It's an amazing place.

Serkan, thank you so much for the music.

Beautiful!

♪♪ People keep telling me these meals are all about the raki, but the food looks pretty good, too.

Now we're going to have one of our favorite dishes.

Mmm.

It's stuffed squash blossom.

Oh.

When the pumpkin, in the morning, like, they blossom, the flower.

And in the morning, we have local ladies, they fill it up with rice and bulgur.

So this is the flower from a squash or a pumpkin.

Exactly.

This is it.

They were also doing this this morning, right?

Yeah.

Yeah, I saw the baskets this morning.

All the local ladies collect these because they blossom in the morning, like, before the sun.

And they fill it up with the rice and bulgur.

And then do you fry it?

Or how is it cooked after that?

You cook -- fry it, and also, you eat with the yogurt.

You have to have yogurt with every meal.

With raki, with everything.

It goes good with everything.

All right.

What do you think?

Very good.

I think that's... Let it sit in.

Mmm!

That is really good.

So, Mustafa, you're gonna be our balloon pilot tomorrow morning.

Yes, I will be.

I am so excited about it.

It's going to be my first flight.

Yeah, yeah!

That's not true.

How do you land?

Like...

When we finish the gas, it lands.

Ha ha.

Now it is going to be my first flight.

So what should I expect?

Any surprises?

We're going to pick you up early in the morning.

We will take off with the sunrise.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Whoo!

We haven't even gotten off the ground yet!

Bye!

Bye!

Oh, wait!

Here we go.

♪♪ ♪♪ Wow.

Jacob, are you happy?

I'm happy.

This is very pretty.

Are you still nervous?

Are you still nervous?

No.

As long as it's not the Hindenburg, I'm happy.

We are moving at nine knots.

Well, as long as you're happy, I am happy.

I am very happy, but I forgot to add that we don't have brakes.

Oh, we don't have brakes?

I read the manual last night, but it was too confusing.

Really?

Last night?

It says there are different ropes in different colors, but they all look gray to me.

I am colorblind.

♪♪ In our culture, fairies are not like Tinker Bell.

They are not tiny creatures.

They are actually as big as angels.

And they believe that these rocks were the chimneys of their underground houses.

They should be living underground, helping people.

Wow, look at these houses.

So how long have people been living here?

First people came here around 12,000 B.C., 14,000 years ago.

They were living in caves at that time, as well?

Are there drawings or anything?

They didn't really have houses.

They were nomads.

Right.

They were living in shelters, either caves or wooden shelters.

It really does look like "The Hobbit" or something, you know?

♪♪ Now we are heading to Love Valley over there.

Love Valley?

Yes, the one with the phallic-shaped rocks.

Ha ha ha!

The phallus-Shaped rocks!

Mustafa had been boasting that he could get the balloon close enough to the trees to pick apricots.

Well, this time, he wasn't kidding.

It's "pick your own," Cappadocia style.

That was the fastest hour of my life.

♪♪ ♪♪ As we travel this world, we're all looking for ways to catch a high, to find that deeper connection and unlock the mysteries of the universe.

People search for it in religion, in music, in dance.

As I've discovered, here in Turkey, there are many ways to experience altered states.

[ Woman singing in Turkish ] But if you're looking for another way to a higher plane, I'd recommend floating over psychedelic Cappadocia at sunrise.

And if, for some reason, that doesn't work, when you land, they'll give you a nice big glass of champagne.

Okay, ready?

[ Playing "When the Saints Go Marching In" ] Yes.

[ Gas hissing rhythmically ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪