O Καϊξής / Kayıkçı
Apostolos Hadzichristos / Απόστολος Χατζηχρήστος
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| Original | English translation / Μετέφρασε στα αγγλικά / Ingilizce çeviri... |
| O ΚΑΪΞΉΣ / KAYIKÇI | THE KAIKSIS |
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| Γκελ γκελ Καϊξή | Gkel, gkel, kaiksi! |
| γιαβάς γιαβάς | Softly, gently |
| Μεσ’της Πόλης τ’ακρογιάλι | to the shoreline of the Only City |
| μέσ’τη σιγαλιά | into the quiet |
| μεσ’του Χαρεμιού τη Λίμνη | into the oblivion of the harem... |
| γκέλ γκέλ Καιξή | Gkel, gkel, kaiksi! |
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| Να κλέψω τη | let me steal away |
| Γκιουζέλ Χανούμ | Guzel Hanoum |
| σκλάβα μέσα στο κελί της | a slave in her cell |
| κλαίει και θρηνεί | weeping and mourning |
| και ζητάει τη λευτεριά της | and asking for her freedom |
| γκελ γκελ Καϊξή | Gkel, gkel, kaiksi! |
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Translator's notes
The kaiksis is the captain of the caïque, a typical boat of the eastern Mediterranean: small, narrow, with oars not sails. If the song had been set in Venice instead of Istanbul, it would have been gondoliere instead of kaiksis, and I would have left the name in the original language too.
"The Only City": this is Istanbul, in its earlier much-lamented incarnation as Constantinople, or, in Greek, Constantinoupoli ("the city of Constantine"), or "i poli", "the city", for short.
It's a well-spiced song, etymologically speaking. The Ottoman city is called by its Greek name, kaiksis and kaïki are Turkish words, so is the call "gkel, gkel", the harem, of Arab origin, is the same in Turkish, Greek and (all?) other languages, and Guzel (a Turkish girl's name) is titled "hanoum" which is a polite honorific to address a woman or girl, and is, if I am not mistaken, of Persian origin.
Further note
Güzel is turkish for "beautiful". Hanim is turkish for "Lady/ Woman"