I do not want to speak about this current Arabic mania about that Turkish invasion through TV Soap operas like Nour because this is not a gossip website “Once I was told by a blogger friend that my blog was a gossip website !!”
But I could not stop myself from commenting about something small in a very silly thing.
First of all I have never seen a complete episode from Nour or even complete 10 minutes.
Second I am not fan for that Turkish hunk that invaded the hearts of Arabic women from the ocean till the gulf. He is not my favourite type in men or in blond men I am afraid.
Now there are some rumours saying that the hero of Nour/Gümüs Soap Opera Kivanç Tatlıtug better known as Mohand “his character’s name in the soap opera” is a gay based on his days working as a male model in Paris and that he appeared in a famous gay magazine called Marie Clarie !!
Yeah Marie Clarie ,the famous French women international magazine is now a gay magazine.
Look the magazine like other women magazines in the west is not homophobic. Also this Turkish hunk did not appear on the cover of the famous magazine in France or in the United States ,already Marie Claire is from the magazines that are famous for its covers and usually big stars are chosen for it.
Marie Claire got several international version across Europe and America.
The Turkish hunk made the cover of the Turkish Marie Claire but not 
the French Marie Claire.You can see it here ,this Turkish on the cover of the magazine.
I just hate this ignorance , people should know what they are speaking about .This is why I had to write this.
I do not give damn about the sexual orientation of Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ' ,after all you have to know that that long TV Soap Opera failed in Turkey !!
It is so silly how that TV Soap Opera has managed to invade the hearts and minds in the Arab world ,including Egypt.
Imagine that the Egyptian National TV offered U.S$ 100,000 to the distributor company in Syria to show in Egypt despite its Shami accent in the translation, the same accent they claim it is a barrier between us as Egyptian viewers and the Syrian TV series !!
There is a real mania about that silly TV soap opera. Women are madly in love with Kıvanç’s Character Mohand ,the handsome rich romantic man that loves his wife and his family.Men are so angry from him.Now wives across the Arab world demand their husbands to 
act like him and to take his a role model. Several divorces took place because of him , I swear it did happen in Saudi Arabia and in Yemen lately. I do not need to speak about the fatwas that prohibit watching the show or wearing T-shirts with the faces of Mohand and Nour on it.
Psychologically and socially I believe there is an explanation of Nour or Mohand Mania among women , Mohand is not like Nancy Agram or Haifa for men , it is not about his so-called killer dashing look but it is about the character he represents ,the perfect romantic yet strong confident man “No I did not see a single episode I swear ,this is from my relatives and co-workers talk about the series”
Mohand is the perfect man that woman can dream of ,handsome,romantic,rich and strong , what else the woman search for !!??
Mohand is the personification of the ladies dreams whether they are young or old.
Advice to men ,you can win the hearts of your ladies even if you do not 1/4 the look of Tatlitug by treating your ladies as it should , as ladies :)
I think it is better to stick to politics.
By the way you can’t believe how the Turkish economy and tourism are winning from this mania, now there are even more trips to Turkey only to see the Palace where Nour and Mohand lived happily ever after !!
FYI MBC was the one that started this mania and they are feeding it , they bought other Turkish Soap operas,they even hosted the cast of Nour in Dubai , it reminds me with their promotional campaign of King Farouk’s TV Series ,yeah King Farouk had his own mania but now only the faithful remember him !!
Kivanç Tatlıtug by the way is not a star in his country and Nour TV soap Opera failed in Turkey. I have to say this again.
Anyhow I will not deny that I like the idea that we know more about the Turks and their living , already my relatives are telling me that they are no different from us in Egypt and that’s why they are watching the show , yes because in their eyes it is long Arabic Egyptian drama !!
Hopefully one day the Turks will watch our TV series and fall in love with our hunks !!
And yes I wrote Mohand name in Arabic in the technorati tags so it brings me some traffic, I will not lie,I will not hate it :)
Some people make money from other people's misery, or more precisely, stupidity and shallow intellect :)
ReplyDeleteWallahi u r 2 cute...u made me laugh...u put his name in arabic 2 get more traffic? be gad...my dear u have a larger audience than u realize...u didn't need 2 do that...:-)
ReplyDeleteSadly, I have to be honest and admit that I have seen several episodes of this SILLY ENDLESS SOAP OPERA...and yes that is what it is...it's always on at my brother's...it reminds me of Bold and Beautiful or Young and Restless here in the States...
I don't know that it is how most Turks live because these people seem v. well off..rich...somehow I doubt that most Turks have servants and live in palaces...
The Mohanad character has a nice face but those tattoos r gross and frankly I agree with u...his popularity on the show is due to the character he plays...not just the blond, blue-eyed looks...Mr Romantic Who Only Looks at His Wife and no one else..unlike a lot of Arab man who are always looking at other women and flirting...
I had 1 aunt tell me how that's real love...that Mohanad has for Nour...eyes rolling...I looked at her and said ..that's not real love, that's TV love...the love of novels and movies and television...most men don't behave this way in real life...the show is like a Harlequin romance...it's nauseating...and strangely it's on right now as I'm typing this...
People here are obsessed with this show..yes even here in the Americas...the diaspora is glued 2 it...I think the fascination is with the wealthy lifestyle, the nice clothes, the attractive women and men on the show...the beautiful locations...it's the American show Dallas imitated by the Turkish...
No poor Egyptian fellaheen or sa3ada or Syrian villagers like in Bab El Harra...it's different..it looks Western and the Arabs are attracted to everything that is culturally Western it seems...I'm surprised it doesn't upset most devout Arab muslims that the Mohanad character had a child Mohanad Jr. out of wedlock with his girlfriend on the show...not very halal huh...
Wonder if the Turkish soaps they plan 2 air in Ramadan will have similar storylines...people have relationships outside of marriage etc....Stay Tuned...
There's a difference between being gay and being a gay idol (liked by gay people). For instance David Beckham is a gay idol, but he's a happily married man.
ReplyDelete@Jerusalem, the correct proverb is the dummies earn their living from the crazy ones :)
ReplyDeleteرزق الهبل على المجانين
@N.American Princess , more traffic won't be harm
about the tv series , it is just like the Bold and the beautiful , it is just like a hype by the way , some time it was the bold and the beautiful then it it is the Japanese TV series then the Korean TV series ,thank Godness we did not have the Mexican TV series like in the rest of the Arab world and now it is the Turkish TV series time,already there is another Tv series people are crazy about called "The lost years"
The turks for sure are not like this
I like the Dallas Comparison , you know it was a huge hit in Egypt once upon time
about the culture I do not know some people say that there are too many similarities between us and them regardless of Mohand's love child , already this child in an Egyptian TV series would the result of an Urfi marriage
You must take in consideration that we are speaking about Turkey as a secular country and that this TV series was not made for the Arab viewer in the first places.
About Ramadan ,well my dear there are too many Arabic TV series like King Farouk in its way ,on the top of the list the biopic of Nasser himself
I do not think that people will watch the Turkish TV series despite the threats of MBC that if the actors mainly the Egyptians did not cut their wages they will depend on Turkish drama !! so to answer the question they already consider it as economic option.
@Hani,unfortunately in the Arab world people do not understand this
Marie Claire originally a woman fashion magazine ,naturally it will be homo-friendly ,it can be considered as a gay idol magazine
My opinion remains as it is :)
ReplyDelete@JPierre , LOL ,I know
ReplyDeleteHi Zeinobia,
ReplyDeleteThis Turkish blogger talks about the impact of this show in Middle East in his July 28th post.
http://istanbulian.blogspot.com/
Many of the Turkish soap operas or "Dizi" are totally unrepresentative of the lives of real Turks. The actors they pick look more American than Turkish. American cultural imperialism has really weaved its' poison with populations wanting to look like the people who are the enemy of cultures that do not resemble America. I have lived in Turkey and just shook my head when I saw so many cast members on these shows who look like Causacians from America. It is very disturbing to see what amounts to self hatred. Plus these shows are mindless escapism. The producers of these shows need to create shows that present a real Turkish identity than garbage like this. They need to show the diverse looks of their people from the very light to the dark. They need shows that have meaning, and not something like THIS which is meaningless poison.
By the way, for all those Arab girls and woman pining for this white looking Turk (he's of Bosnian extraction), they can come to my town and get a guy who looks like Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ anyday. I'll even be their translator if they need one. I went to school with guys who looked like this. So what! Of course, there are some Turks who are shallow too who want only blondes.
There are sweet guys in Turkey who do not look like this blonde who isn't all that great looking if you ask me.
Anyway, great post!:)
Hi again Zeinobia,
ReplyDeleteOpps! I made a mistake. Can't be a translator since I only know a couple of words in Arabic. But I can be these girl's and women's chaperon so they can get one of these types:) I really hope they haven't let such nonsense break up their marriages.:(
@Sincerae ,believe it or not it broke several marriages in the Arab world , of course not yet in Egypt but it happened in several Arab countries ,to tell you the truth I am happy that the Arabic men are drinking from the same glass their ladies used to drink from when during the Lebanese invasion from Haifa and her sisters Nancy and other , the same thing happened the men were crazy on how these shallow singers look like , divorce rates increased and the Plastic surgeries were and are still booming !! Now they know how it feels.
ReplyDeleteso the hero is from a Bosnian origin ,this is why his name is some strange even for Turkish one ,well I do not like him , it is not about being blond or dark but about the fact that I do not like the man who knows he is good looking and loves being good looking
Beside this guy is cold ,seriously I watched some clips for him
I am not surprised that the Turkish blogger you posted his link did not hear about the the TV series ,already it sucks
it is not secular Turkey and conservative Arab world , if he watches our TV shows and series he will be amazed honestly ,that we are not conservative but more moderate
about the American life style , well do not forget that there is a part of Turkey that wants to live in the Western dream so the American life style comes in the same package.
I remember that we passed through similar phase in the TV but it ended thank God
First of all, I really like your blog. ;)
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I myself never miss an episode but i am NOT in love with the fictional character Mohanned, rather than Kivanc whats-his-face.
The dudes a miracle hottie, and thats what i care about.
I watch it everyday just to watch him.
There, i confessed.
haha, so there. :P
@anonymous, is it a guilty pleasure or what ?? lol
ReplyDeleteAs a Turk here is my take on this all. First of all how come people think that this series flopped in Turkey? They made a 100 episodes, this would be impossible if it had low ratings. They are really quick about giving low rating series the axe here. Secondly Kivanc is pretty big in Turkey and appears in more series and cinema movies. And I don't get why him being from Bosnian herritage (who are Muslim also btw) has anything to do with him being less of a Turk. I mean if that's the case then how many real Turks are there in Turkey? It's just the way Turkey is, it's one big mingle pot of like 26 etnicities. That said I agree that soap opera's are stupid and Turkish ones are no exception in that regard.
ReplyDelete@Anonymous Turk , the Istanbulian never heard about http://istanbulian.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeletemy dear 100 episodes do not mean it is so great , the bold and beautiful crossed the 100 from years and it is so boring
about Kivanc , I do not have anything about him except he does not deserve all that attention
really really really... i'm sooooooooo glad that finally i hear someone talkin in sense!!
ReplyDeletethis complete soap opra sucks, and i still have no idea why did this gay "mohannad" got all this attention!! he's so ugly ... !! and besides, the whole series is so much silly, it has no point, nor a story! i nva watched but one eposide of it, but alas i seem to watch it everyday, because i can't seem to miss the loud voice of the tv in my house and at the neighbors' !! i have to hear evrey single word of silliness from this series daily, and it makes me sick :s
but really, i'm so glad that i finally found someone who shares the same feelings of me toward this stupid show !!
i'm from Jordan btw...
First of all, this show wasn't a flop because they produced 100 episodes. If it was a flop, it would have been cancelled straightaway. There have many good, promising shows that have been cut after 4 or 5 episodes because of low ratings. The only channels that won't cancel low rated shows are the government owned ones like TRT since they don't rely on advertising money.
ReplyDeleteSecond, Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ is Turkish. Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ is a fully Turkish name. Why do you say it isnt Turkish? Also, he has nothing to do with Bosnia-he only PLAYED a Bosnian character once in a tv series. Other than that, he has no connection to Bosnia whatsoever. I guess some people are jealous and trying to spread rumours.
Regards
@anonymous , The Bold and Beautiful in the United States reached over 1000 episodes still it sucks , with my all respect it is not that great , it is boring , so boring and does not deserve all that buzz , in fact if it were a hit in Turkey why the Turkish blogger mentioned above did not hear about it !!??
ReplyDeleteand if you dont care or dont know anything about him why are you talking like that about him...u even...haven't...seen the show,....how could u judge him...and tell that suck stories about him....why!!!omg..i cant imagine there is still ppl like this...till now........i hope ur such....jeoles from him...i dont know ...what i have to said......***notice that im not from the girls that are crazy with him but i just hate that when ppl make such..a thing..from nothing....omg!!!!
ReplyDeletetab3an akiid msh hatwaf2y 3la el comment bta3y....3shan enty...............very weird person really
ReplyDelete@Menna, my dear why do not I publish your comments !!
ReplyDeleteI do not know why I would be jealous from him, seriously why ??
I saw clips from the TV series and I think it is overrated , this is my opinion and with my all respect you have to respect it
It is not the first time I am called a Weird person but it is first time for something like this
Yes there are people like me and you have to deal with that
xenobia says < hopefully one day the turks will watch our tv series. and fall in love with our hunks.
ReplyDeletewell, i didnt watch any arabic tv series but i am in love with an egyptian hunk. here is his website tamerelshahat.com . youcan see his vids in mostmuscular.com . he has a group in yahoogroups.com . there are hot vids of him in youtube.com . if you make a google/image search , you can find some pix of him. he is soooo hot.
I am a Türk and his name is Türkçe.Kıvanç means '' proud'' and Tatlı-tuğ means '' sweet-flag(or emblem). I live in İstanbul with lots of Bosnian and Balkanic neighbours and 'being from Bosnia' doesnt make you ethnically Bosnian all the time:) In Ottoman time They put so many Türkmen&Müslüman people to Balkans to introduce the İslam to the natives(also there are so many Turkic people who came from above Black Sea)Even in Kosova, Türkçe is one of the official languages :) and I personnally think that there are not so many good shows so why cant you just be happy for the people who finds a show that they can enjoy to watch.I remember once we were watching a Persian movie with my whole family and we were tied to the Tv.we really didnt have any idea about how the people of İran live their lives.If You think we could like the Arabic shows then You should try to upload them with subtitles ;)I already watched some nice video klips of some Arabic singers...
ReplyDeleteand about that euro-type people on turkish channels...My opinion is what is the chance of an Eastern boy or '' girl'' to be on a tv show while they cant even speak Türkçe properly and without an accent....Meral
crap!!! Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ is the most famous actour in Turkey, right now. Everyone loves and respects him. His name Kıvanç means honor and contentedness and is 100% turkish, it's not a confusing name for us Turks. Please jelous people you can write everything you want to make him and turkish people look bad, but we are a country with different ethnics and cultures and we are still proud to be Turk!!!
ReplyDelete