The main focus of the local elections to be held on March 31 will be Istanbul. TRT (The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation) has started shooting a series related to the conquest of Istanbul accordingly.

Unless there is a last-minute change, the first episode will be screened on March 5. The first two episodes have been filmed, and work is currently underway on the third and fourth episodes. These are the most important parts before the election!

The budget for the series has been significantly increased. It's clear that the principle of "no saving on prestige" has been followed. They have even brought in a makeup team from Hollywood. The routine expenses for the first two episodes have exceeded 80 million.

The cast includes names like Gassam Mesud from Damascus, Tuba Ünsal, Fikret Kuşkan, Selim Bayraktar, Serkan Çayoğlu, Esila Umut, and Kenan Çoban.

TRT General Manager Mehmet Zahid Sobacı is naturally involved in every stage of the series. What is unnatural and should not be happening is the interest of another party; the Director of Communications at the Presidency, Fahrettin Altun. For the series being shot in Kurtköy, even the special horses of the Palace were and will be, involved.

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The title of the series is:

Mehmed: The Sultan of Conquests!

We are not entirely familiar with the entire script. According to the information we have, the series starts in Medina. It is processed with an emotional load similar to TRT's "Diriliş" series, revolving around the words of Prophet Muhammad about the commander who will conquer Istanbul in the future and the events that unfold around it.

It is said that the efforts to determine who best fits each role will be remembered in cinema history.

Fatih Sultan Mehmet, a great Ottoman Sultan who opened and closed an era, was well-educated, knew nine languages, and holds a special place in our history with the conquest of Istanbul. Of course, his series can and should be made.

However, it is still remembered that TRT postponed the celebrations of the 100th year of the Republic to a later date due to the war that started in Gaza on October 7 last October. It is unclear what "a later date" means. Besides, the 100th year was not a "celebration," but a day to salute the beginning of the history of the Republic of Turkey.

The producer of the series is familiar. Eyüp Gökhan Özekin, who placed an advertisement in Akit on November 10, 2013, saying "We could have done without him."

TRT participated in the local election campaigns in 2019 by interviewing Osman Öcalan. Now they are in good preparation again!

Everything will be in play in the Istanbul elections where Ekrem İmamoğlu and Murat Kurum will compete. It seems that the government will also bring Fatih Sultan Mehmet into play!

There are two important milestones in the history of Istanbul:

Fatih Sultan Mehmet conquered it on May 29, 1453.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk liberated it from occupation on October 6, 1923.

The two are integral!

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The guest at Ankara Art Theater's (AST) Bilkent stage the other evening was Genco Erkal. He was on stage with "About Living," dedicated to Nâzım Hikmet's 122nd birthday.

Alongside poems about life, love, and struggle by Nâzım, the world poet's longing for Istanbul also resonated.

Audience members joined in on many poems, starting with "I am a walnut tree in Gülhane Park."

Genco Erkal made us say:

A person's age is not in their ID card but in their excitement!

From Nâzım to Yahya Kemal, Istanbul has been eternalized in the verses of all poets who have breathed in this city.

Beyond daily political developments, those who will vote in Istanbul also have the responsibility to protect the city, just like this poem.