The series is inspired by the novel "El Turco - II. Viyana Kusatmasinin Bilinmeyen Yönleri" by Orhan Yeniaras. In the novel, the Ottoman intelligence officer Balaban Aga, who was found wounded during the Second Siege of Vienna and rescued by the people of Moena, settles in their village and organizes a successful peasant uprising against the overlords who overtaxed the people. This novel tells the extraordinary story of Balaban Aga, but also the unknown aspects of the Second Siege of Vienna.
The international team working on this project includes cast and crew members from Turkey, Italy, Hungary, England, Ireland, Sweden, Czechia/Canada, Croatia, Portugal, Germany, Austria, USA, Romania and Slovakia.
Although Moena is now in northern Italy, from the Middle Ages until the Napoleonic Wars, it belonged to the Bishopric of Trento, which was founded as a state of the Holy Roman Empire. It was an ecclesiastical territory governed by the Prince-Bishop of Trento.
La Festa di Turchia is held every summer in Moena to celebrate the Turkish men who settled there after the Battle of Vienna. A door is built at every entrance to the neighborhood and the Turkish flag flies at every house. The celebrations begin on Friday evening and continue throughout the weekend. On Saturday, the Parade of the Turks takes place through the streets of the village. The star of the parade is the Sultan, who sits on a throne carried by slaves, followed by women in oriental dress and children.
The expectation for the release of the series was big enough for an Italian publishing house Altano to translate and publish Orhan Yeniaras's book El Turco, which is the first translation of that book into a foreign language. The cover of the book was designed by Turkish illustrator Ethem Onur Bilgiç and shows the titular character in a traditional Jannisary uniform.