Mehmet Gerz

Arguably the best Turkish TV show ever. The story is very much like Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, but it reflects the local culture so well that one might think it is original. The cast is extremely strong. Tuba, Murat, Cetin Tekindor (father), Nur Surer (mother), Tülay Günal (aunt) and the one-and-only Tuncel Kurtiz (grandfather) all excel in their roles. I and my wife had a chance to visit Antakya in 2008 when the show was being shot. The best part was to have a long conversation with the late Tuncel Kurtiz who actually said he despised the show, and he only did it to retire from the profession! (His generation of actors felt bad for acting in popular TV shows.) Nonetheless, he and some younger members of the set were fun to share a bottle of wine that I had brought to the set from Cappadocia :)