Complex sentence: Hemsi proceeded to dedicate more than 17 years of his life to collect traditional chants throughout the former Ottoman Empire, particularly in Smyrne, Salonica, Rhodes, Istanbul, and Alexandria.
Split into simpler sentences: Hemsi proceeded to dedicate more than 17 years of his life to collect traditional chants throughout the former Ottoman Empire. Notably so in Smyrne, Salonique, Rhodes, Istanbul, and Alexandria.