In Mexico and Spain, it’s the guitar. In Tyrol, the zither, but in Turkey, it’s the Saz. It is an ancient stringed instrument with a shapely bell and long, graceful stem and fret board. The Saz, or Turkish guitar, is usually made of chestnut, walnut, or mulberry wood. These woods are light and easy to work with and have excellent resonance. Some of these instruments are carved out of a solid piece of wood on special order. The solid Saz is known as the "Oyma Saz." The more common instrument, which is made by assembling several kinds of wood, is called the "Yaprak Saz." The Saz comes in four sizes, the "cura," or small guitar, the "baglama," the "maydan sazi," the giant of them all , the "divan sazi" which measures about 5 feet in length. This Saz is the "baglama sazi" which is about 39 inches long. This size produces tones that are medium pitch – a little lower than the "cura" which is somewhat smaller. I bought this Saz in a shop that specializes in Turkish folk instruments – the most important being the Saz. It was handmade by the master of the shop where I bought it in Istanbul during my second trip to Turkey in December 1964.