He became very popular and gave concerts in many cities, in some cases six or seven times. His compositions and recordings made him renowned. But then in 1978, his fingers became paralysed. He soon became penniless and had no means of paying for treatment, since he had no other marketable skills. So in 1979 he went to Germany, where his brother was living. There, he recovered from his paralysis, and started again to perform music at wedding ceremonies and local events attended by members of the Turkish community in Germany. He also took his three children there. A German school of arts offered him a teaching post for saz playing. He accepted and served for two years in this position.