Mısırlı Ahmet ( Ahmet Yıldırım born, 1963 in Ankara, Turkey) is a Turkish virtuoso darbuka player. His music spans various genres and carries influences from Indian, Arabic, Latin American and jazz music.

Ahmet Yıldırım started his music life playing a Turkish-style darbuka. He states that he was a fairly ordinary player before his travel to Egypt, to play with and learn from some of the best darbuka players; most of all "to find the meaning of his existence" and "to discover the rhythm". Yıldırım lived in the desert-bound valley of Cairo, during which he developed his unique technique, now known as the split-finger technique, which allows for very quick playing.

Yıldırım came to be known as "Mısırlı Ahmet" (Ahmet of Egypt) after his journey. He is called "Ahmed el Turkî" (Turkish Ahmet) in Egypt.


You have to lose the rhythm
first in order to discover it.
Ahmet Yıldırım.


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