![]() ![]() Öztürk Oran, head of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, and who is responsible for promoting Turkish soap operas globally, criticized the decision. “The latest episode of one of the famous Turkish soap operas reached more than 25 million viewers and they gained huge profits from that,” he said on his nightly talk show, adding, “Turkey is neither supporting Egypt nor Saudi Arabia so why are we supporting them?”.Īmong the Turkish public, the ban unsurprisingly stirred controversy. On his part, popular Egyptian TV host Amr Adib praised MBC’s decision and urged Egypt’s satellite channels to follow suit. For example, after four Arab countries cut ties with Qatar, Qatar is still the same,” Hamad said. “The Saudi pressure on Turkey will not force Turkey to give up its strategies. He added that visitors from Egypt are already decreasing due to the country’s economic woes. However, Hamad does not believe that Turkey’s tourism sector will be particularly affected by the ban considering that Arabs are not the largest group vacationing in Turkey. ![]() He explained that MBC group’s Saudi owners are pressing Turkey to change its policies and give up its support to the Muslim Brotherhood and Qatar. “Turkey has succeeded to cultivate its culture into millions of Middle Eastern homes through their dramas, which have touched people very quickly because of the beautiful natural scenes and dramatic plots some series presented historical eras like the Ottoman Empire,” he said.Įxpert in Turkish and Iranian affairs Medhat Hamad agrees, telling Egypt Independent that the decision is was solely based on political manoeuvring. According to Turkey’s cultural attaché in the UAE Saleh Awzir, the number of visitors to Turkey’s main tourism destinations, especially those where famous dramas have been filmed, has surged.Ībdel Qader said that MBC’s decision was political, stressing it was mainly taken as a means to halt Turkish soft power that has in recent years grown in the region. Turkey ranks sixth among the most important tourist destinations on the globe. ![]() “The country depends on its soap operas to cultivate the Turkish culture and lifestyle in the Middle East and it plays a pivotal role to attract Arabs to visit the country,” he maintained. Mohamed Abdel Qader, Director of the Turkish Affairs Unit at the Al-Ahram Center for Regional and Strategic Studies, told Egypt Independent that the move is significant as it will doubtlessly have a negative impact on Turkey and its regional influence. Hayek told The Associated Press that it is not immediately clear who took the decision to impose the ban and he could not confirm if it was taken by the MBC management or not. MBC group, run by Saudi businessman Walid al-Ibrahim along with other Saudi investors, said that the network is planning to replace the Turkish shows with Arab and Latin American ones. Hayek added that the ban includes all kinds of Turkish programs, and immediately affects six shows. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |