“I am Rawan, studying in Turkey for a year. I chose the topic of Turkish television series and the image of Turkey in the media. “
Love for Turkish series
She mentions that she loves Turkish series, and has watched more than 40 series. Likewise, I love soap operas and their landscapes. The atmosphere in this country and its food, culture, and language attracted me. I also enjoy the love stories portrayed in the series. I love Türkiye and also the reason I chose to study in this country mainly stemmed from the series I have watched. Furthermore, I used to watch Turkish series for fun, but when I came to Türkiye, I started listening to them to strengthen my Turkish language. Now, sometimes I can watch Turkish series without subtitles and also listen to Turkish songs. My favorite song is “Her yerde sen”.
I agree and disagree with Turkey’s image in the media. The landscapes promoted by the media are the same, such as the Maiden’s Tower (Kız Kulesi), the July 15 Bridge (15 Temmuz Köprüsü), and the many beaches in Istanbul with simit and cups of tea as well.
Their customs and traditions are the same. There is no big difference between what the media has portrayed reality. For example, The consumption of tea by the Turks is true as they always drink tea at any time, and there are two types of people shown in the media, open-minded and conservative.
Of course, the volatile atmosphere of Istanbul is fascinating as in Istanbul you can never expect the weather and experience two seasons on the same day! Moving on to the fascinating cuisine in Turkey, I cannot help and not mention kofte and the kokorec. I do not like kokorec because of its taste and the ingredients. I see that Turkish cuisine is closer to Arab cuisine in terms of other international cuisines. Of course, kebab is one of my favorite dishes. Since I am talking about the Turkish series, so, of course, I have my favorites. My favorite actor is Barış Arduç and I always follow his social media. I also visited several sites for series such as Çükür and also another site in the Bebek district of Istanbul where I was able to see Barış Arduç there.
In the end, I see that the Turkish series help you a lot in learning the Turkish language. I did not study the Turkish language, but by watching the Turkish series, I was able to speak and understand the locals, and this helped me when I first came to Istanbul. But I also see that not everything that exists in soap operas is the reality, as they only portray 35% of the truth”.
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