(Todayszaman) World-famous British singer Sami Yusuf, dubbed "Islam's biggest rock star" by Time magazine, rocked Istanbul over the weekend, drawing tens of thousands of fans to the Feshane Culture Center on the Golden Horn coast in Eyup for a rare appearance in Turkey.
The event, organized by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality as part of its annual Ramadan celebrations, drew a 50,000-strong crowd to the concert location, exceeding the normal capacity of the hall by 30,000. The concert, which was scheduled to get under way at 9 p.m., could only start at 10 p.m. due to a small-scale stampede in the front rows and a traffic jam caused by Yusuf's fans that flocked to Feshane from various provinces of Turkey to see the artist perform live, filling the culture center and it vicinity hours ahead of the performance.
The 27-year-old musician, who saluted his audiences with the words "Selamunaleykum," said he was pleased to be in Turkey and in Istanbul. The singer-songwriter, who started his concert with his most popular song, "Hasbi Rabbi," sang hits from his albums, both old and new, at the concert.
The musician, who, in previous interviews has said he considers himself a bridge between the East and the West, instantly hit stardom after releasing his first album, "Al-Muallim," in 2003. Two years later, in 2005, he released his second album, "My Ummah." His upcoming album is due to be released in mid-2008.