Book of the Month

As if the Ottoman Period Never Ended

by artappraiser 11/1/2012 - 4:24 am

On Screen and Off, Nostalgia for Glory Surges in Turkey

By Dan Bilefsky, New York Times/Arts, October 29/30, 2012

ISTANBUL — Since the lavish, feel-good Turkish epic “Conquest 1453” had its premiere this year, its tale of the taking of Constantinople by the 21-year-old Sultan Mehmet II has become the highest-grossing film in Turkey’s history, released in 12 countries across the Middle East and in Germany and the United States. But its biggest impact may be the cultural triumphalism it has magnified at home.

“Conquest 1453” (known as “Fetih 1453” in Turkish) has spawned a television show with the same title and has encouraged clubs of proud Turks to re-enact battles from the empire’s glory days and even dress up as sultans and Ottoman nobles. The producers of “Once Upon a Time Ottoman Empire Mutiny,” a television series about the 18th-century insurrection against Sultan Ahmet Khan III, said they planned to build a theme park where visitors will be able to wander through a reproduction of Ottoman-era Istanbul and watch sword fights by stuntmen [....]

The three-year-old Panorama Museum, which showcases an imposing 360-degree, 45-foot-tall painting of the siege of Constantinople, complete with deafening cannon fire blasts and museum security guards dressed as Janissary soldiers, is drawing huge crowds.

And in the past few years there has been a proliferation of Ottoman-themed soap operas, none more popular than “The Magnificent Century,” a sort of “Sex in the City” set during the 46-year reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. The Turkish show pulpishly chronicles the intrigues of the imperial household and harem, including the rise of Suleiman’s slave girl-turned-queen, Hurrem. Last year it was broadcast in 32 countries, including Morocco and Kosovo.

The empire’s rehabilitation has inspired mixed feelings among cultural critics [....]

Read the full article at http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/30/movies/in-turkey-ottoman-nostalgia-returns.html?pagewanted=all

Here's a related review from early this year:

The Dirt, and the Soap, on the Ottoman Empire

A lavish prime time soap opera about the 16th-century sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and his wife is admired and reviled in Turkey.

March 17, 2011 - By SUSANNE FOWLER

 

by artappraiser 11/1/2012 - 4:40 am

This is really interesting to me for a number of reasons.

Turkey is such an important nation in this era.

A secular-Muslim nation.

Where else do we find this kind of entity.

We were smart (sometimes the US of A is smart) in bringing the Turks into NATO.

There are problems with Syria of course and even though I want no more wars; we have a duty to this country and so does NATO.

At any rate, we NEVER hear cultural issues about Turkey. We hear about India and Bollywood and we hear about China with its severe censors; but I never take the time to review Turkey except when 'digs' of the century occur of course since this nation was important to Abraham and probably had more to do with the origin of Western Civilization than any other single place on the planet.

Oh I am droning on and on again, sorry.

Of course I love this period in world history anyway so thank you for the link.

by Richard Day 11/1/2012 - 2:04 pm

You're welcome, Richard; hope to see the meme pop up in one of your blogs some day in the future. I thought it a neglected story, too, that's why I grabbed the article to post when I saw it in print.

by artappraiser 11/2/2012 - 12:18 am (re: Richard Day)

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