Sunday’s bombing in Istanbul has claimed six lives. It could have been more. Because when the bomb hit the lively boulevard of Istiklal, the Swiss cult musician Müslüm (42) was very close. “I was lucky today,” writes Müslüm, whose real name is Semih Yavsaner, on Instagram.
Hotel less than 200 meters from the promenade
“I was only two metro stations away from the scene of the tragedy,” Müslüm, who traveled to Istanbul for a video recording, told Blick. If he’d taken the subway, he would’ve turned right down the street where it happened. And right at the moment of the explosion. His hotel is about 200 meters from the murder scene.
Basically anything would have talked about taking the metro. “But for some reason, I intuitively decided to get rid of it and walked for 22 minutes instead.” Even though he wasn’t exactly in top shape after a night of drinking in Istanbul. When his mother, who lives in Turkey, called him and told him about the bombing, “a shiver ran down his spine”.
It was “mystical” that he eventually gave up on the subway. Nevertheless, he is of course very grateful that nothing has happened to him: “Life is just a gift”, says the musician with Turkish roots.
What happened still seems surreal to the cult figure. Shortly before the bomb went off, authorities checked every taxi. “Maybe they already got information about a bombing.”
“People are disappointed”
Whether and when Müslüm can still shoot his music video remains to be seen. Ironically, even if the attack is “infinitely tragic”, his song is more relevant than ever.
“One of my newer songs is about the fact that life is limited and represents a mystery,” explains de Berner. However, his video is secondary. “First of all, it is important that those who suffered from the attack get well.”
The mood on the ground is deeply depressed. “People are disappointed. You can see it’s nerve-wracking for them that Istanbul has been hit by another attack.”