Copper master Yaşar Bozkurt has been working with hammer sounds since he was 9 years old. 

Bozkurt, who has been fond of his profession for 38 years, said, "Hammer sounds make those who love this profession sleep, and those who don't like it get a headache."

The coppersmith profession, one of the professions left over by the Armenians in the neighbourhood of Sur in Amed, is faced with extinction.

In the coppersmith bazaar, the hammer sounds never stopped, now it is hard to hear. Copper master Yaşar Bozkurt (47) has been doing this job since the age of 9. Bozkurt has been working as coppersmiths for 38 years. He reminded that is the art of the Armenians, but added: “In the past, Kurds also performed this art. Armenians never used machines while doing this profession. In the past, hundreds of Kurds and Armenians were making copper craftsmen in this bazaar. The sound of the hammer was filling the air. I started to like the hammer sounds and I decided work with copper. I have been practicing this precious art for about 38 years. I love being creative while doing this job. The sound of the hammer is like songs to me. It makes those who love this art sleep, and those who don't like it get a headache. I will try to keep this art alive until the end of my life."

After telling his father that he wanted to do this work, Bozkurt said that he went to his father's copper master friend when he was 9 years old and continued: "I liked the sound of the hammer when I was 8-9 years old. My father's friend was a copper master. I always asked my father to take me to his friend. We went and my father left me with the master. I have been doing this profession ever since. Every time I hammer the copper I add life to a work. I dropped out of school at the age of 15 and gave all my energy to this profession. I never regret it. If I come to the world once again, I will choose this profession again."

Bozkurt said that there are many stages in the creation of copper objects. "I am coppersmith, but there are different stages in this work. My task is decorating and processing copper. When I started, many families in the region wanted their children to learn this art and brought them to the copper masters. But unfortunately, this profession and art is disappearing today. In addition, non-copper kitchenware also causes illness. My call to the young people is do this profession and claim the art of our ancestors."