World-renowned master of oud Yervant Bostancı, a Diyarbakır native of Armenian descent, announced March 30 that he has decided to return to his hometown following separate calls by the culture minister and Diyarbakır mayor for minorities that have emigrated to return to Turkey, Hurriyet Daily News reported.
Bostancı, who has been living in California for 21 years, said he was set to move to Diyarbakır in June, being the first Armenian to respond to the calls.
"Diyarbakır Mayor Osman Baydemir and other fellow countrymen wanted me to come back. I could not rip my heart from [my birthplace]. People should die where they are born. I'm coming to die," Bostancı said, adding that he did not find genuine happiness in the United States.
