Deli Yurek To Gumus- Famous Turkish TV Shows Boost Tourism In Istanbul

Turkish TV dramas have gone global, and they are drawing tourists from all over the world.

Under the sweltering Turkish sun, tourists wander through sets that recreate Ottoman and Byzantine-era castles, take selfies with actors in traditional Ottoman costumes, and watch horseback stunt performances.

Among them is Riia Toivanen, 22, a devoted fan of Turkish television drama who travelled to Istanbul from Finland with her mother to indulge in the realm of her beloved shows. Some 12,800 kilometres across the globe in Villa Carlos Paz in Argentina, 66-year-old retired teacher Raquen Greco watches an episode of a Turkish romantic comedy surrounded by memorabilia from her once-in-a-lifetime trip to Istanbul, where she visited landmarks she knows from many years of watching Turkish shows.

"It seemed to me that I was dreaming. I couldn't believe I was living what I saw every day in the series," she said during her visit in April of this year. The global popularity of Turkish TV dramas or dizi in Turkish has thrust Turkiye into the position of a prominent exporter of television, significantly bolstering the nation's international image and drawing millions of viewers and tourists worldwide to its historical and cultural sites that are backdrops to many of the shows.

From Deli Yurek to Gumus: Turkish TV shows promote tourism and soft power

The success of television shows has fuelled a burgeoning billion-dollar industry that continues to expand into new markets, according to experts. The growing popularity of these shows has also greatly enhanced Turkiye's soft power on a global scale. Between 2020 and 2023, the demand for Turkish series globally increased by 184 per cent, positioning Turkiye as one of the biggest exporters of TV shows worldwide, according to Parrot Analytics, a research company.

"We reach over 400 million viewers every night around the world," said Izzet Pinto, CEO of Global Agency, which exports Turkish dramas to world markets. "The soft power we create with Turkish dramas cannot be even compared to what could be done in politics." Although Deli Yurek was the first Turkish series exported to Kazakhstan in 2001, the 2005 romantic series Gumus catapulted Turkish dizis to global fame. The series around a woman from a traditional background adapting to urban life became immensely famous in the Middle East. A Thousand and One Nights, a 2006 romantic drama loosely based on the collection of Middle Eastern folklore set in modern-day Istanbul, captured audiences in the Balkans. Magnificent Century, based on the 16th century Ottoman Sultan Suleyman, the Magnificent led the way for historical fiction.

Why are Turkish TV shows so popular?

Once an importer of Latin American telenovelas, Turkey now exports its dramas to the region. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro visited the set of the historical drama series Resurrection Ertugrul in 2018, highlighting the appeal of the dizi in this nation. Haley Uganadi, the founder of the Turkish TV series fan platform Dizilah, says the popularity of the drams comes from themes that focus on family friendship and love, usually set against the backdrop of luxurious lifestyles in Istanbul or Turkey's rich history. "They offer something for everyone regardless of where you are from; watching Turkish dramas, I see reflections of my mom, myself and my siblings," Uganadi said. Her platform receives about 1.5 million viewers monthly, with fans from the United States, Canada, Greece, India and Pakistan. Pinto points to the family-oriented nature of Turkish dramas, "There is no nudity, no cursing or bad words, not much hate. So this becomes watchable by the family," he says.

As the company grows, it is expanding the themes of its series, such as Red Roses, which explores the dynamics between a staunchly secular Western-oriented family and a fictional Islamic brotherhood.

Istanbul witnessed an influx of 'Set jetters'

Toivanene and her mother were touring Bozdag Film Studios, a vast northern Istanbul complex where historical Ottoman-era blockbusters like Resurrection Ertugrul and Foundation Osman were shot. Toivanen says her love of the romantic dramas Black Money Love and Endless Love brought her to Istanbul. "I like Turkish culture very much," she said. "The series is very friendly and warm, and there is a lot of drama going on." the first episode of Resurrection Ertugrul had over 157 million views on the Urdu language YouTube channel of Turkish state broadcaster TRT, said producer and screenwriter Mehmet Bozdog, who created the famous historical drams that fictionalise the lives of Ottoman leaders and heroes. Foundation Osman was broadcast in over 110 countries.

During its run, Resurrection Ertugrul peaked as the fourth most in-demand show worldwide in May 2020, with demand more than 68 times that of the average show worldwide, according to Parrot Analytics. DR Deniz Gurgen Atalay, assistant professor of film and TV at Bahcesehir University in Istanbul, says the industry generated $1 billion in 2023 from overseas exports and has an essential impact on tourism, especially in Istanbul. "The TV series sector has a considerable share in this. The image of Istanbul presented by the series, the food eaten here, the drinks drunk, the music listened to, the living standards, and the culture here provide a charming place for appreciation within the framework of the series," Atalay said.

Mert Yazicioglu, a start of Red Roses whose eagerly anticipated second season is set to premiere in late September, was clad in the attire of his character, a member of an Islamic sect, when he took a break from filming of chat. The series has propelled the soft-spoken 31-year-old to stardom, with Turkiye media tracking his every step. "We have introduced Turkish culture abroad. That makes us very happy," he said, wearing his character's baggy beige trousers and matching waistcoat.

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