Dirilis Ertugrul first aired in 2014, tells the story of “Ertugrul Gazi”- the father of Sultan Osman I, who founded the Ottoman Empire. Set in the early thirteenth century, the series dramatizes Ertugrul’s mission to find a permanent homeland for his tribe, the Kayi, while fighting the Knights Temple, the Mongols, treacherous Seljuk governors and generals, as well as rooting out spies within his own tribe.
The series spanning 5 seasons has a lot to offer, the epic fight scenes, the nail biting plots, and the mushy love stories and that is why the Turkish drama series Dirilis Ertugrul has taken Muslim audiences by storm.
With the Ertugrul Ghazi fever still running on all-time high, here are some interesting facts about our Muslim warrior Ertugrul Ghazi:
1- THE DIRECTOR’S VISION
Metin Gunay who has directed the highly acclaimed Dirilis Ertugrul series shared that while deciding the cast they thoroughly analyzed each character. They had their obvious choices in their mind and hunt for the cast in the similar fashion. Finally, after locking in the cast, the cast members were themselves very satisfied regarding their role & script.
2- THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STORY
Engin Altan Duzyatan who played the brave Ertugrul Ghazi in Dirilis Ertugrul confessed that though he liked the script very much he had his own doubts as an actor. Engin shared that he truly wanted to feel the essence of the show otherwise the historical journey couldn’t be portrayed on the screen as it was meant to be.
Engin further told that the director and producer of Dirilis Ertugrul convinced him that each character of this show will be portrayed with complete justice and faith and the rest as you know is history. We can’t imagine someone as Ertugrul other than Engin Altan.
3- THE CHARACTER TRANSFORMATION
Engin Altan shared that while preparing for the role there were very few sources about the 13th century. Engin read the stories of Devlet Ana, Osmancık and Book of Dede Korkut to get a sense of the period and to take the heroic stories as an example. In addition to horse riding and archery lessons, he was also trained in the culture and daily life of that period.
4- WHEN LUCK IS ON YOUR SIDE
The elegant Turkish beauty, Esra Bilgic shared that Ertugrul Ghazi was not only her first project but a lead role in a period drama. It was an unbelievable opportunity for her. Esra told that she knew it would be hard but she accepted the role, knowing that it’d teach her a lot.
5- A SCRIPT OF ONLY 7 PAGES?
Engin Altan who played Ertugrul Ghazi on the show shared one of the most interesting facts, that the information they have extracted from the legends and archives only amounts to around 7 pages of sources. Despite this Engin considers it a great privilege to play a character like Ertugrul Ghazi.
6- COMPARISION FROM REALITY
Primary sources on the lives of Ertugrul and Osman are rare. Stories about their lives and struggles were passed down orally, or through references in the writings of their contemporaries. For this reason, it is difficult for historians to verify the facts from legend. And as far as the TV series is concerned, the artistic license also has to be taken into consideration. Halima Sultan gave birth to Usman at the age of 67, which is a miraculous age for birth. However, on the show, she gave birth to him long ago.
7- A MOVIE MARATHON
Each episode of Dirilis Ertugrul is like a movie because every episode is about two hours long. 5 seasons and 150 episodes, talk about a movie marathon!
Did you already know abut these interesting facts? If you’re a fan of the show let us know what your favourite part was!
