Istanbul’s conquest to be marked with events

Thousands of fireworks were sent to the sky during the rehearsals. AA photo

The 559th anniversary of the capture of Constantinople by the Ottoman Empire will be marked with a number of events held in the city today. The celebrations’ center will be the Golden Horn, which was the point at which the Ottoman Army entered Istanbul in 1453, according to historians.

Ottoman Emperor Fatih Sultan Mehmed II launched his ships to the Bosphorus from the Golden Horn on 28 May, 1453.

During rehearsals for today’s events, a swimming stage was placed on the Golden Horn. Today more than 10,000 fireworks will be set off and the film “Fetih 1453” (Conquest 1453) will be shown on a 1,088 square meter screen.

A traditional Ottoman army band Mehter Takımı will perform a show during the celebratory events. Sound and light performances also will be held. For the show 96 robotic lights and 56 lighting devices were placed on the stage. Messages such as “love, tolerance, peace, new age shine, good news of being role model,” were written in the sky during the rehearsal and will be repeated for today’s performance. (ISTANBUL - Anatolia News Agency)

'Conquest 1453' to continue as TV series

The widely popular Turkish film "Fetih 1453," which details the capture of Istanbul by the Ottomans, will continue as a TV series titled "Fetihten Sonra" (After the Conquest), daily Habertürk reported today.

“Fetih 1453” became the most watched film in Turkish cinema history with over 6.5 million viewers after hitting theaters on Feb. 16.

The film's producer, Faruk Aksoy has been working with his brother Fatih Aksoy on a project to continue the story told in “Fetih 1453” in a television series format, the report said. The Aksoy brothers reached an agreement with broadcaster Show TV to air the series.

The 160-minute long film would be divided into four parts and comprise the first four episodes of the series. The new story would begin with the fifth episode, Habertürk's report said.

Devrim Evin will return to the role of Sultan Mehmed II along with other actors from the movie.

“Fetih 1453” was the most expensive film ever made in Turkey, with a total cost of $17 million.

Fetih 1453’ goes to US

The Turkish film “Fetih 1453: The Conquest of Constantinople,” which tells the story of the Ottoman conquest of Istanbul, was released in the United States, playing in theaters in California and Washington D.C.

After enjoying quite a bit of success in Turkey, Europe and Australia the epic movie was previously released in New York and New Jersey.

The most expensive production to ever come out of the Turkish film industry, the film details a historical view of the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans during the reign of Sultan Mehmed II. The movie, which debuted Feb. 16, garnered an estimated record-breaking 12 million Turkish Liras in its first week at the box office.

The film is currently being shown in 850 cinemas around Turkey and has reportedly drawn 2.47 million people.

Directed by Faruk Aksoy, the film has angered Christians in the German city of Cologne, with the Christian association Via Dolorosa boycotting the film. The association said Turks should be ashamed of what they did to Christians in the past rather than celebrating Istanbul’s conquest. (Hürriyet)