Turkish soap opera flop takes Arab world by storm

28 July 2008, Monday

Zaman, REUTERS, RIYADH

A Turkish soap opera that flopped when first broadcast in Turkey three years ago has taken the Arab world by storm, provoking a flood of Gulf Arab tourists to Turkey that even includes royalty.

“Noor” became an immediate hit when Saudi-owned MBC satellite television began airing it earlier this year, partly because of its usage of colloquial Arabic dubbing, and because its blond-haired, blue-eyed leading man had women swooning.

Turkey is expecting the number of Saudi tourists this year to top 100,000, including King Abdullah’s wife Hissa al-Sha'alan, who has been the subject of YouTube videos showing her swanning through the markets of İstanbul. “From 41,000 [tourists] last year to 100,000 this year -- the same year this show became phenomenally successful,” said Turkish diplomat Yassin Temizkayn.

Spanish-language soap operas have been shown on Arab television in recent years with classical Arabic voice-overs. But with “Noor” -- the main character whose name means “light” -- the names of the characters in the original Turkish soap “Gümüş” have been swapped for Arabic, and Syrian vernacular has replaced the formal classical Arabic of media and religion.

Yet the main pull has been the co-star Muhannad, 24-year-old Turkish actor and model Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ. “It seems most viewers are female,” said Hana Rahman, who runs an Arab entertainment blog. “They’re so swept away by the main character. He’s become a heartthrob here!”

The drama centers around a family whose patriarch strives to ensure his sons focus on the family business and maintain cohesion without straying into romantic temptation. “We made the series with a Turkish audience in mind,” Tatlıtuğ told al-Arabiya Television during a recent visit to Dubai. “The fact that it has amassed such a following in the Arab world proves how much our cultures have in common.”

Many Saudi women explained their devotion to the show as a form of escapism from love-less marriages. “Our men are rugged and unyielding,” quipped a 26-year-old house-frau who preferred to remain unnamed. “I wake up and see a cold and detached man lying next to me, I look out the window and see dust. It is all so dull. On Noor, I see beautiful faces, the beautiful feelings they share and beautiful scenery.”

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