When a human being turns into a song, what words could ever define them with justice?
What if they carried within them the sanctity of mountains, and in their voice, eyes, and features gathered all the delicacy of a wild gazelle? Can language truly keep pace with such beauty? Jihan Bilkin left behind many meanings, yet she herself became the deepest and most precious of them all. Among everything that distinguished her, her voice remains the most beautiful legacy she left behind.

Songs, no matter how many words they carry, hold deeper meaning in their breath. Every song springs from a story, and every story bears its own weight, image, and splendor. Tales of difficult love form the backbone of many stories immortalized by name and voice—just like the story of Mount Sîpan, whose hero is both voice and name: Xecê and Siyamend.

Mount Sîpan is the star of all beauty and love—the star that united Xecê and Siyamend in a single destined moment. It is also the star of the wild gazelle. When the story of a song becomes a story of untamed beauty, its meaning grows richer and deeper.

The song Mount Sîpan is one of the most authentic Kurdish folk songs. No matter how its melodies change or the languages in which it is sung, at its core remain the mountain and love.

This song has deeply rooted history and has been performed by many well-known Kurdish artists. It has even been sung in Turkish. Yet the most powerful rendition was by Suheyla Taş—not merely because she is an artist, but because she is a political prisoner and a revolutionary Kurdish woman. She was arrested in 2017 in Amed and sentenced to eleven years and five months in prison, then transferred the same year to the women’s prison in Sincan.

Due to the complete isolation imposed on leader Abdullah Öcalan, political prisoners—led by Kurdish politician Leyla Güven—began an open-ended hunger strike on December 26, 2018. Suheyla Taş was among those participating inside Sincan Women’s Prison. On the tenth day of the strike, she spoke by phone with her mother and sang “Mount Sîpan” in Turkish, dedicating it to all hunger strikers.

On May 26, 2019, the action was suspended in response to Abdullah Öcalan’s call. Nevertheless, Suheyla Taş’s performance of “Mount Sîpan” remains etched in collective memory, echoing in people’s hearts.

Journalist Jihan Bilkin never grew tired of this song. From that day on, it became closest to her heart—one she constantly repeated, never leaving her lips