Ney

One of the oldest forms of flute is the ney, the endblown flute. The word ney means reed and the instrument is played from Morocco to Pakistan. The oldest forms of the nai dates back to the age of the pyramids, shown on Egyptian tomb paintings as early as 3000-2500 years BC. The oldest nay found was 5000 years old, in good shape and playable. The intervals are the same in use today in Ethiopia. To the same family belong the Kaval and the Salaam flutes which are thicker and are usually less longer than the classical nay. The origin of the word comes from the early Persian “nây” which simply means reed.

It is an end-blown flute with seven holes, six fingerhholes plus a thumbhole. The Turks started to use wood, bone, horn around the 11th century and now even plastic mouthpieces, really liprests. As for playing, the fingering and lip technique remain the same. This embouchure is called bilabial blowing, upper and lower lip are used to partially close the end of the tube.
The name of the top of the ney is Baspare in Turkish. Turkish style ney’s have a special mouthpiece which is called Parazvana (some kind of black cone which protects the mouthpiece).
Both Arab nai and Turkish ney come in different lengths, each one being tuned to a specific pitch, simular like the irish pennywhistle.
A neyeti or ney player usually has a set of neys to use depending on the Maqam and key. The normal set consists of seven Neys. However, a competent Ney player usually uses two one being the dokah. The Neys are referred to by the name of the second note. That is the note the Ney produces when the first hole is uncovered. In the typical Ney, the note is “D”. It is usually called by the Turkish name which is “Dokah”. For the Docah Ney, when all the holes are covered, the basic note is ‘C’ or Do as most Egyptian musicians call it.
Notes are also produced by partially opening a tonehole, changing the blowing angle or a combination of the above and also by altering your blowing force. The G note in the 1st register is the same pitch as the all-holes-closed note in the 2nd, as is the C in the 2nd reg. and the closed C of the 3rd; these alternate fingerings are used for musical purposes and to check internal tuning and angle position.
Arabs play more rhythmic, reflecting the instrument used in the sheperd tradition, a good example is the use of the ney in oriental music. A classical nai is usually longer, the folk models like the kavala or kawal – which has no thumbhole – are shorter.
In Turkey the ney is a more urban classical instrument. The Turkish style is more smooth and flowing. In Turkey, the Mevlevi (Whirling Dervishes) long ago adopted the ney as their main instrument in the Sema, the spiritual service that includes the trance dancing spinning.
The lament of Ney is a fire.
who has not this fire be perished.
Mevlana Rumi

The ney is an end-blown flute that figures prominently in Persian, Turkish, and Arabic music. In some of these musical traditions, it is the only wind instrument used. It is a very ancient instrument, with depictions of ney players appearing in wall paintings in the Egyptian pyramids and actual neys being found in the excavations at Ur. This indicates that the ney has been played continuously for 4,500–5,000 years, making it one of the oldest musical instruments still in use. It is a forerunner of the modern flute. The ney consists of a piece of hollow cane or reed with five or six finger holes and one thumb hole. Ney is an old Persian word for reed.

NEY

The ney is the principal wind instrument in Turkish classical music. The term is derived from the Persian nay, “reed.” There are seven finger holes, six on the front of the instrument, and one on the back. A mouthpiece, generally made of buffalo horn, called baspare, is attached to the blown end. Silver rings called parazvane are attached to either end of the instrument to prevent cracking. The lowest tones are called the “dem” (breath) tones. The semitones unique to classical Turkish music are achieved by opening some of the holes either half or one fourth of the way. Other semitones are achieved by a slight turn of the head.
The ney, together with the kudüm, are the two main instruments of Mevlevî music, but have been widely used since very early periods in secular music as well. There are several different sizes of ney, each with its own name, including (from low to high register) bolahenk, davut, sah, mansur, kizneyi, müstahsen, and sipürde. These names are used as tunings (ahenk) in classical Turkish music. Of the twelve sizes of neys, seven are tuned to natural tones, and five to half tones. The half tone of each of the chief tones is known as maybeyn. There are also neys an octave above the lowest register neys such as bolahenk and davut neys; these are known as nisfiye neys.

info: http://dubsahara.com/oriental/instruments/wind/ney