![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/suleiman.jpg\" "\\"suleiman\\"")
ISTANBUL\u2013Ottoman palace intrigues, tales of harem lust and a dash of foreign conquests make for a compelling cocktail, as producers of the television series \u201cMagnificent Century\u201d profitably realized. Yet despite dominating ratings in Turkey and being broadcast in numerous countries, the serving isn\u2019t quite to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan\u2019s taste.<\/p>\n
The show chronicles the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, whose 46-year rule ended 1566 and is seen as the pinnacle of the Ottoman Empire. Attracting a third of the prime-time audience every night it\u2019s on air, and broadcasting to 150 million people in 22 countries from the Czech Republic to Japan, the series is a sure hit for Tims Productions, the Istanbul-based firm behind some of the most successful series and movies in the past decade.<\/p>\n
But the decadent representation of Suleiman\u2019s life, hinting that the sultan known as \u201cthe Lawgiver\u201d was given to alcohol and promiscuity, also drew widespread criticism from conservatives.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, Prime Minister Erdogan joined the chorus.<\/p>\n
His intervention came in response to criticisms from Turkey\u2019s main opposition party that the ruling Justice and Development Party\u2019s reorientation of foreign policy towards the Middle East has made the country less secure. Mr. Erdogan said that under his leadership, Turks would go everywhere their ancestors roamed on horseback during the Ottoman Empire\u2014a vast territory which stretched across three continents from the Adriatic to the Caspian Sea and encompassed much of the modern-day Middle East.<\/p>\n
In a rhetorical flourish that rallied his supporters but baffled many commentators, the prime minister then meshed his defense of government policy with a salvo against the \u201cMagnificent Century,\u201d arguing for active international engagement by deriding the limited scope of the opposition\u2019s stance and the show\u2019s limited focus the luxuries of the palace.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not the Sultan Suleiman we know, that\u2019s not the Lawgiver we know, 30 years of his life was spent on horseback, not in a palace like you see in TV shows,\u201d Mr. Erdogan told a cheering crowd of thousands at an airport opening ceremony in the western province of Kutahya on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI publicly condemn the directors of those shows and the owners of the television station. We have warned the authorities on this matter and await a decision by the judiciary. We can\u2019t have this sort of an understanding, the nation needs to give the appropriate lesson, within the confines of the law, to those who play with the people\u2019s values,\u201d the prime minister said.<\/p>\n
Sunday\u2019s intervention isn\u2019t Mr. Erdogan\u2019s first foray into social matters. In May, the premier declared that abortion is murder and vowed to fight it. At the time, Mr. Erdogan also said he doesn\u2019t like Caesarian sections, and the Health Ministry swiftly pushed through a law limiting the procedure to medical necessities. The government, however, took no steps to limit Turkish womens\u2019 right to abortion. In July, Mr. Erdogan, a pious Muslim educated in a vocational school for religious studies, attacked universities for serving alcohol on campus grounds.<\/p>\n
As with his previous statements on social issues, the prime minister\u2019s criticisms of \u201cMagnificent Century\u201d also proved divisive.<\/p>\n
One of Turkey\u2019s most successful shows, the production has also been equally polarizing. The country\u2019s broadcasting watchdog received a record 140,000 complaints on grounds that the series disparaged Turkey\u2019s Ottoman past, a source of great pride at its peak. As a result, \u201cMagnificent Century\u201d received a warning from the authorities.<\/p>\n
Yet Turkey\u2019s most popular show also has its supporters, from artists to columnists and fans, who speculate that Mr. Erdogan\u2019s swipe is only an attempt to draw attention away from current matters.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t understand why this came up on the agenda when there are so many problems in the country,\u201d Nebahat Cehre, who played the part of Suleiman\u2019s mother in the show\u2019s first season, said in a statement published online by Hurriyet newspaper. \u201cIn the end, this is a scenario based on historic events. Also, in the beginning, it\u2019s stated that the show is a work of fiction. I think the purpose is to change the agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n
The opposition party said the Prime Minister\u2019s intervention was symptomatic of the government\u2019s intensifying effort to meddle in people\u2019s daily lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe prime minister doesn\u2019t want a second sultan on the screens, he\u2019s jealous of the ratings. I suspect the only prime minister to tussle with television shows in the world is ours,\u201d said Muharrem Ince, deputy chairman of the main opposition Republican People\u2019s Party.<\/p>\n
The prime minister\u2019s speech will no doubt receive a warm reception from some conservatives who see the show as denigrating Turkey\u2019s Ottoman history. But the intervention does come at an interesting time.<\/p>\n
From the Syrian conflict that\u2019s spilling over the border to last week\u2019s Israeli-Gaza conflict, Mr. Erdogan has been very active in trying to shape international developments in the region.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the prime minister has also been waging a campaign against credit-rating firms that won\u2019t rank Turkey investment-grade. Domestically, Mr. Erdogan is attacking his secularist domestic opposition and separatist Kurds.<\/p>\n
Mr. Erdogan is also pursuing ambitious infrastructure projects while seeking to achieve high levels of sustainable economic growth. The premier has his eyes set on a goal worthy of Ottoman sultans: to triple Turkey\u2019s $780 billion gross domestic product and join the world\u2019s top-10 economies by 2023, the republic\u2019s centenary. Indeed, Mr. Erdogan doesn\u2019t mince words when staking his claim: \u201cMy brothers, we\u2019re acting with an understanding of the spirit that established the Ottomans.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Emre Peker ISTANBUL\u2013Ottoman palace intrigues, tales of harem lust and a dash of foreign conquests make for a compelling cocktail, as producers of the television series \u201cMagnificent Century\u201d profitably realized. Yet despite dominating ratings in Turkey and being broadcast in numerous countries, the serving isn\u2019t quite to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan\u2019s taste. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":59862,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2939],"tags":[6052],"class_list":["post-59861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cultureart","tag-suleiman-the-magnificent"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59861"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59861\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}