Between the Shield and the Doorstone (Folk Song)

“Kalkan ile Kapı Taşın Arası” (Kalkan ile Kaputaş’ın Arası”) is a Turkish folk song in the lament genre, originating from the Kalkan region of the Kaş district in Antalya Province. Although the song is commonly associated in oral culture and on social media with workers who died during the construction of the Kaputaş Road, the testimonies of the source informant and official records indicate that the origin story of the song rests on a different foundation. The song is registered in the TRT Turkish Folk Music repertoire under number 4111.

Between Kalkan and Kaputaş
Did the path not find its way through the mountains
Halil has fallen, his pickaxe still in hand

Halil my Halil, strange Halil
He fell from the cliff’s edge and died, Halil

I could not tie the shroud around Halil
Halil fell and I could not gather him
I could not wrap his entire body in cloth

Halil my Halil, strange Halil
He fell from the cliff’s edge and died, Halil

His name was carved upon the stone
His tools hung on the wall
His mourners stood behind in grief

Halil my Halil, strange Halil
He fell from the cliff’s edge and died, Halil

^{Sheet music and lyrics of the song registered under number 4111 in the TRT repertoire (}TRT⁾

The popular folk narrative surrounding the song links it to work-related accidents that occurred during the construction of the Kaputaş Road between Antalya and Kaş in the 1960s. According to this narrative, the song was composed as a lament for a worker named "Halil" who died in the accident. However, examination of the records from the 13th Regional Directorate of Highways and the testimony of the source informant, Hasan Kalkan, reveals a different origin. During the road construction between 1960 and 1963, four workers—Hasan Şahin, Mahmut Erdoğan, Mehmet Teker, and Mehmet Karagül—lost their lives, but none of them was named Halil. Hasan Kalkan, who composed the lament, has described its origin based on his own eyewitness account. He stated that as a child in the 1960s, he visited the Kaputaş Canyon where the accidents occurred and saw a woman leaning against a rock, singing a lament calling out “Halil my Halil.” Deeply moved by her cry, he adopted the lament, but he did not know whether “Halil” referred to an actual person or was simply a name used in her expression of grief.

According to TRT repertoire records, the song is composed in the “Saba Zemzeme” modal sequence. It is performed in 4/4 meter and has a vocal range of eight notes. The final note, lowest note, and highest note all lie on the pitch of “La.” The song is classified as an “Ağıt” (lament).

The song, registered in the TRT Turkish Folk Music archive under repertoire number 4111, is categorized under the headings of Antalya Province, Kaş District, and Kalkan Region. The source informant is listed as Hasan Kalkan, and the expert who collected and transcribed the song is Hamdi Özbay. Although official records sometimes refer to the location as “Kapı Taşın,” the geographical site referenced in the song is, in fact, the Kaputaş locality. These metadata details serve as the primary reference documenting the region’s musical memory and the informant’s transmission.