Turkey’s leading private music TV channels as well as the country’s state-run broadcaster have broken new ground in airing the first Armenian music video on popular stations in the nation’s history, Hürriyet Daily News reported.

“Namag” (Letter) by Sibil Pektorosoğlu, an Istanbul Armenian, has been gaining mainstream popularity and can now be heard echoing from shops along the city’s iconic İstiklal Avenue. The lyrics were written by master Armenian poet Hovhannes Shiraz while the singer’s music video was produced by one of Turkey’s most famous directors in the field, Özkan Aksular.

Pektorosoğlu said it was like a dream to release her album and broadcast her music video on Turkish television. “When I hear my songs on İstiklal Avenue, I cry,” she said.

“Music is universal, it is above all identities. I can’t breathe without singing; this is why this album is loved that much by my listeners,” she said.

The song was the result of collaboration between Armenian and Turkish artists. Pektorosoğlu’s album was arranged by Cenk Taşkan, an important figure on the Turkish pop music scene for more than 40 years.

Also an Istanbul Armenian, Taşkan’s real name is Majak Toşikyan; asked why he chose to use a Turkish name rather than his birth name, he said: “Turkish artists, as well as many foreign artists, do not use their own name. Changing my name does not mean that I have changed my soul.”