The characteristic of alevi-bektaşi is the combination of Sufism, Shi'ism, and shamanism. They use music very similar to Anatolian folk songs for their rituals, however, their music expresses Islamic beliefs and ideology and is not employed merely as a 'folk song', but as a 'religious practice'.
This article focuses on mersiye, one of the songs sung in the Alevi-Bektaşi ritual, and considers the connection between Islamic belief and folk culture. Comparing the musical contents and place of performance of mersiye, which laments the martyrdom of Imam Hüseyin, with those of ağıt (lament in folk song in Turkey) allows the characteristics of mersiye to be identified. The article analyzes the depiction of mourning in the Islamic tradition through musical devices and the social role of singing the song.

In recent years, the Eastern Mediterranean has emerged as a crucial component of the People's Republic of China's (PRC) Maritime Silk Road Initiative strategy (MSRI) with particular importance for its BRI (Belt and Road Initiative). Chinese investments in port facilities and key large-scale infrastructure projects in the Eastern Mediterranean aim to open new trade links between China and the Eurasia-Africa regions. This study examines the Chinese MSRI strategy in the Eastern Mediterranean by focusing on the Cypriot option as a new BRI trade node and route. PRC's relations with Cyprus are almost exclusively linked to its MSRI strategy in the Eastern Mediterranean and energy projects. Although the BRI framework does not immediately bring PRC and Cyprus closer, it allows the two countries to discuss China's new role in the Mediterranean region and maximize the bilateral relationships without challenging Cyprus's pro-West orientation.

County Durham in north-eastern England participates in a scheme, which allows the most vulnerable Syrian refugees to settle in the U.K. As the County's population is dominantly White, the refugees tend to be differentiated from the locals regarding ethnicity and religion. This paper presents a case study of a songwriting workshop of Syrian refugees, supported by local volunteers and Durham City of Sanctuary, a charity organization. In their song lyrics, the refugees express their hope for establishing their lives in the locality. Folkloric symbols of the Durham sanctuary, which appear in its history, absorb the refugees' primordial sentiments and make them reidentify as sanctuary seekers. The research suggests that history can be productive and innovative as a model for projecting the contemporary relationship between the locals and refugees onto the past and can encourage the shift of social boundaries, which blurs ethnic and religious differences between the immigrants and locals.