Behind the Scenes of Mehmed: Fetihler Sultânı – A Journey of Spirit, History, and Unity

The series Mehmed: Fetihler Sultânı, which is broadcast every Tuesday on TRT 1, sheds light on the life of Ottoman Sultan Sultan Mehmet, who was prominent with his intellectual personality and reigned for 32 years.

The series, whose script was written by Ozan Bodur, also focuses on the events during the conquest of Istanbul.

The lead actor of the series, Serkan Çayoğlu, told AA correspondent that he tried to get into the spirit of Fatih Sultan Mehmet while portraying him, and that he established an incredible spiritual bond with him.

Pointing out that everyone working on the set, including producer Eyüp Gökhan Özekin, embraced the series, Çayoğlu said, “We are filming one of the most difficult production jobs in Türkiye. Everyone comes to the set motivated. We also motivate each other because we are filming a very important and difficult job.”

Çayoğlu, drawing attention to the very successful art direction on the set, said, “We have a very good art team. Everything on the set was done exactly from scratch. Three or four ships were built from scratch and one of them will be set afloat. I am very happy to be here and to work. I am also happy with my teammates. We really have a very beautiful set.”

Regarding the interest Turkish TV series have attracted abroad, Çayoğlu made the following assessments:

“Turkish series are achieving great success abroad. Turkish series are broadcast in countries that many people have never heard of. We have the chance to transfer our own culture to other countries through series. This is a very important thing. People who do not know Turkish history or even where Türkiye is exactly are suddenly introduced to Turkish culture. They want to learn Turkish and come to Türkiye. That’s why what we reflect in series is very important.”

“There is a very big and very good team”

Selim Bayraktar, who plays the character of “Çandarlı Halil Pasha” in the series, emphasized that they worked with a large production and said, “The emotional unity of the team and their friendly shoulder to shoulder and overcoming the task is a great success. There is a very good team here, we have become a big family.”

Bayraktar stated that acting in period works does not only mean reflecting that period, and continued as follows:

“In fact, you are also making an archaeological discovery in period works. I am talking about digging into history. You have to learn the depth of the period and the character you are playing. It is a journey that goes from the kitchen, the costume worn to the feelings, how people spoke and greeted during that period. That is why I look at this work as an archaeological discovery. Even if you go back in time in these periods, there are still emotions and content that tell the story of today. This is why our series is being watched right now.”

Bayraktar, who drew attention to the fact that it is very difficult to cover the history of the same period in a series, said, “We are actually making a comment with imaginary characters. It is very difficult to cover the history of the same period in a series and when you tell it one-on-one, it becomes a documentary. We wish we could tell more truths. In order to keep the audience in front of the screen, we have to add today’s realities to the story. That’s why you can’t reflect that period completely. There is a lot of criticism about many period works, but we are making a series.”

Bayraktar said that period TV series encourage viewers to read books, adding, “I think these period works have encouraged us to read history books. As I said, what we do is a historical discovery.”

“There is a group of actors who strive to make the stage beautiful”

Ertuğrul Postoğlu, who took on the role of “İshak Pasha”, stated that the audience witnessed his character’s journey in the series and said, “We tried to show the gradual change of İshak Pasha with the scriptwriters and actors throughout the adventure. I love İshak Pasha very much. There is a saying, ‘He walks on snow and leaves no traces’, and İshak Pasha is a bit like that.”

Postoğlu drew attention to the fact that the producers brought together brave actors with good chemistry in the series, and noted the following:

“The group of actors, the actors who help each other and work here with zero ego. This is very important. It’s the same in theater. Sometimes the role doesn’t matter. The group of actors is important. That’s the case here too. There is a group of actors where everyone is by each other’s side, supports each other, doesn’t say ‘your scene, my scene’, doesn’t say ‘my word, your word’ and works completely to make the scene beautiful. If this series is a success, it’s primarily because of this group of actors that the production company has established, and then the script. The chemistry of everyone from the director to the technical team, from the tea maker to the actors is very good.”

Ali Sinan Demir, who plays “Janissary Agha Kurtçu Doğan” in the series, stated that the transformation he went through in the story satisfied him as an actor, and said, “Actors want things that will be difficult for them. If they show those transformations well, it creates sympathy and empathy in the audience.”

Demir emphasized that the team on set, from the tea maker to the producer, from the cameraman to the actor, will go down in history with their success, and said, “There is a great deal of effort. There is friendship, camaraderie, looking out for each other and a very good set.”

Mehmed: Sultan of the Conquests now and witness history come alive.

For more Turkish series like this, visit osmanonline.live to watch, and explore fascinating historical tales at osmanonline.me.