Turkish Gümüş became a hit in Bulgaria

The staggering popularity of the Turkish soap operas in Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and the Balkans draw thousands of Arab, Bulgarian, Iranian and Greek tourists to Istanbul. Tour operators organize special tours to the venues in wealthy neighborhoods of Istanbul, where the series are filmed.

The overwhelming popularity of the first Turkish soap opera ” Yabancı Damat ” (Foreign Groom) in Greece in 2005 was followed by Dubai-based MBC’s interest in Turkish soap operas.  Now, 18 different Turkish series are watched by millions in 22 different countries from Kazakhstan to Algeria, increasing the interest for Turkey and the Turkish culture.

“Perla” (i.e. “Pearl”) – the name of the most popular Turkish soap opera in Bulgaria so far (known in Turkey as Gümüş) – was the number one word Bulgarians entered in Internet search engines in 2009.