Islamabad: The Turkish historical fiction and adventure television series, Ertugrul Ghazi, which is set in the 13th century, centres around the life of Ertugrul, the father of Osman I–founder of the Ottoman Empire. The series, which was first aired in 2014 in Turkey, became instant hit across the world, especially in Pakistan after the state broadcaster PTV aired the urdu dubbed version in Ramzan last year.
In no time, it broke the YouTube watching record, surpassing the viewer count of the show in Turkey, especially after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan himself promoted the show adding that it promotes ‘good culture’.
Even the stars including Engin Altan Duzyatan, Dogan Alp, Esra Bilgic among others, who played pivotal roles in the series started huge popularity across Pakistan.
As the Ertugrul fever still continues with Ramzan only a day away, PTV has announced that the new episodes of Turkish drama will be aired Pakistan throughout Ramzan. PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) senior leader Faisal Javed Khan took to his Twitter recently and wrote, “Pakistan Television @PTVHomeOfficial to telecast new episodes of Ertugral @DirilisDizisi daily at 7:45 PM throughout Ramazan. Ertugral series is a great exhibition of culture & Islamic faith – an amazing journey through the phenomenal Turkish history @trtworld.”
In another tweet he said, “Another great news coming soon as a Pakistani production will be dubbed in Turkish and aired in Turkey as part of bilateral exchange of knowledge, ideas, talent & content between Pakistani & Turkish entertainment industries.”
Created by Mehmet Bozdağ, the popular TV series features Engin Altan Düzyatan in the lead role. The series depicts the pre-history of the Ottoman Empire, chronicling around the plight of the nomadic Kayi Oghuz Turkic tribe, led by Ertugrul, the father of Osman I, the founder of the Ottoman Empire. Ertugrul is also available with English subtitles on Netflix and YouTube which has contributed to its popularity beyond Turkey.
